The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands says not only is the agency on track to spend the $600 million from lawmakers to reduce its growing waiting list, but it may even need more money soon.
DHHL currently has 20 projects in the pipeline and plans to acquire additional properties to provide housing to approximately 5,300 Native Hawaiian beneficiaries.
DHHL Director Kali Watson briefed members of the Act 279 Working Group in September on the agency’s plans to set aside the $600 million by its June 2025 deadline. Despite initial concerns that the department would not be able to spend the money in time, he says they’ve already put to use nearly a third of that money, or $193 million.
A majority of this first batch of funds is going toward acquiring properties in Wailuku and Waiʻehu, Maui, and Kaʻumāna on Hawaiʻi Island. The remaining $42 million will fund homestead development in Puʻunani and Honokōwai on Maui; East Kapolei and Kaupeʻa on Oʻahu; and Hanapēpē on Kauaʻi.
“So we’re spending the money,” Watson said. “And I recognize this upcoming legislative session is going to be tough, but we are going to probably come in for more money, including [capital improvement projects] money.”
Watson said he plans to request the release of another $175 million next quarter to fund projects on Lānaʻi and Oʻahu, including two new homestead communities in ʻEwa Villages and Waialua.
The agency is also setting aside $160 million this fiscal year for private financing partnerships and individual down payment assistance, as well as $5 million to boost staffing.
DHHL’s current plans for this coming fiscal year would take the department over the appropriated amount by nearly $140 million mid-way through fiscal year 2024. The agency is also working to acquire additional properties that it estimates could cost another $530 million to develop.
Act 279 Waitlist Reduction Act
Act 279, also known as the Waitlist Reduction Act, was approved by the state Legislature and signed into law by former Gov. David Ige in 2022. The act appropriated $600 million in general funds to provide a multi-pronged approach to reduce the Hawaiian Home Lands waitlist.
DHHL has awarded homestead lots to more than 10,000 Native Hawaiians since its inception, but more than 29,000 are still waiting.
The department’s mission of providing homesteading opportunities to Native Hawaiians was established in 1921 when Congress passed the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. The act set aside a little over 200,000 acres of land across the island chain for Native Hawaiian beneficiaries with 50% or more Native Hawaiian blood.
One of the agency’s biggest challenges in addressing the growing DHHL waitlist is the nature of its land inventory. For example, the department on Oʻahu has the smallest available landholdings and the largest residential waitlist. On the island where DHHL has large landholdings like Hawaiʻi Island, a majority of that land is not suitable for homesteading because it is conservation land.
Acquiring new lands to bolster DHHL inventory
The department is moving forward on five proposals to expand its landholdings on Maui, Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island. Acquisition and development costs for these lands are estimated at $142 million. DHHL estimates this may help remove nearly 1,000 Native Hawaiians from the waitlist.
The department is vetting another six potential properties for acquisition on Kauaʻi, Maui and Hawaiʻi Island. These proposals are subject to negotiation with landowners and developers, but in the end, they could provide housing for a combined total of 1,592 Native Hawaiian beneficiaries.
DHHL received eight offers from developers and landowners in November 2022 for its first round of requests for proposals (RFP), and 18 offers in its second round in May 2023. Watson said he is considering issuing a third round of RFPs to help leverage department funds.
DHHL also awarded a $1.5 million contract to Bowers + Kubota to research the potential acquisition of the Villages of Leialiʻi, which surrounds DHHL’s largest homestead community in West Maui.
Hawaiian Home Lands in wake of the Maui Fires
Watson said the department was fortunate to have only lost two homes to the fires that blazed through West Maui on Aug. 8. The Hawaiian homestead community of Lealiʻi, just a few minutes west of Lāhainā, is home to more than 100 Native Hawaiian beneficiaries.
“So we’re in the process of replacing those. We’re working with the homesteaders,” Watson said. “And the others we’ve met with and we’re addressing the concerns regarding the water, as well as air quality. Then we’re looking to replace their roofs and incorporate PV to reduce electric costs.”
In West Maui, DHHL has set aside part of the $600 million to develop more than 230 homestead lots, including 181 residential lots in Leialiʻi and 50 subsistence agricultural lots in Honokōwai.
In Wailuku, site development is underway at the Puʻunani Homestead. Vertical construction on the 161-lot subdivision could happen as early as April 2024. The department also set aside about $45 million to acquire land just mauka of Puʻunani to develop an estimated 207 homestead lots.
DHHL is also moving forward on acquiring land in Waiʻehu that could produce a little more than 400 homestead lots, including several dozen agricultural lots.
Watson said the agency is working with about 1,400 Hawaiian homesteaders on Maui to create accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, on their property to provide temporary housing for displaced family members from West Maui. But he said the current challenge on Maui is the labor shortage, which will require DHHL to pay more to fly in workers from other islands.
When asked by legislators whether Maui would be given priority in the wake of the fires, Watson said the agency needs to prioritize those on the waitlist regardless of what island they’re on.
“I mean we got 29,000 people on our waiting list and they’re dying on all the different islands, not just Maui,” Watson said.
Collaboration to house Native Hawaiians
With a growing waitlist of more than 29,000 Native Hawaiians, Watson said DHHL can't do its job alone. He's working with other Hawaiian-serving organizations like the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to help house Native Hawaiians.
“I’m trying to push them to develop on their own,” Watson said. “So while we’re restricted to who we can lease to or sell to, they would have the ability with certain restrictions to maybe address people in their beneficiary base who are less than 50% Hawaiian. I think it would be a great partnership.”
Watson said DHHL is looking to work with OHA on kupuna housing and transitional housing. They’ve identified sites on Molokaʻi, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi.
OHA spokesman Ed Kalama said the agency is in talks with DHHL, but that no proposal has been brought before OHA trustees.
This comes as the U.S. Census Bureau reports more Native Hawaiians are now living on the continental United States than in the islands. The latest numbers from the 2020 U.S. Census found that of the more than 680,000 Native Hawaiians living in the United States, 55% are currently living outside Hawaiʻi.
