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Honolulu mayor reports progress on homelessness response, housing incentives, rail and selects Wahiawa landfill site
Summary
Honolulu officials told the joint Ways and Means and Finance committees they have expanded housing capacity and coordinated with the state on homelessness outreach, are advancing rail construction, and have selected a new landfill site in Wahiawa after extensions and site reviews.
Honolulu said it has expanded housing and emergency-response capacity and is seeking continued state partnership to sustain those efforts, the city’s mayor told the joint legislative committees.
"We think we'd take a 1,000 people off the streets" in 2025 using coordinated resources the city described, the mayor said, describing a combined approach that includes a mobile crisis unit, new shelter and respite capacity and coordinated treatment services with state and nonprofit partners.
The mayor said the city has created new facilities, including Waikiki Vista and a resource center at Eagle Lake, and is leveraging state support for wraparound services and treatment. The mayor credited weekly cross-agency coordination — city EMS, community service, police, state Department of Health and nonprofit partners — for enabling voluntary and involuntary interventions and placements.
On housing finance, city officials said they have issued private activity bonds totaling $120,000,000 and returned $142 million to the state under conditions that funds be used on Oahu; the city also described distributing more than $40,000,000 from the affordable housing fund to developers and said more offerings will be made.
The mayor reported implementation and reform work across city departments: he said the Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) has undergone system upgrades and staffing improvements, ocean safety has been separated from EMS, and the city is investing in cross-departmental staffing and technology to reduce permitting delays.
On rail, the mayor told the committee that the next leg to Middle Street — which will run past Pearl Harbor gates and the airport — is on track to be ready Oct. 1 of this year, that the Federal Transit Administration has accepted the city’s full funding grant agreement, and that the line will extend roughly 18.75 miles to South Street.
The mayor also described a pressing solid-waste decision: after seeking an extension under Act 73, the city notified the state in December and on Dec. 10 selected a new landfill site in Wahiawa. The city acknowledged public concern because the site is above an aquifer and said it will continue outreach. "We have a high degree of confidence. None of us would do anything that would create any danger to anybody under any circumstance," the mayor said, describing modern liner and pumping technologies and EPA requirements the city plans to follow.
City officials asked the Legislature to help with regulatory reform, permit streamlining, and continued financial and technical partnership on homelessness and housing projects.
The mayor closed by urging continued state-city collaboration on housing, public safety and long-term infrastructure decisions.
