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Residents say Waipoli relocation plan was posted online without direct notice; DHHL urged to improve communication
Summary
Public testifier Kenna Stormer Gibson told the Commission that Waipoli Courtyards residents discovered a DHHL relocation plan online (published Oct. 15, 2025) without being informed; she said the plan lists few available units (two in Kekaha) and residents are petitioning for clear timelines, rental assistance calculations and equitable communication.
Kenna Stormer Gibson addressed the Commission during public testimony on Nov. 17, saying residents of Waipoli Courtyards learned through an online search that a 65‑page relocation plan (dated Oct. 15, 2025 and prepared by Interwest Group on behalf of DHHL) existed, but that none of the residents had been directly notified.
Gibson said residents were told for months that a relocation plan would be provided and that they would be “taken care of,” but instead discovered the plan by happenstance. She said residents who read the plan found only two units listed as available — both in Kekaha — and that the plan’s closing date was imminent relative to the plan’s publication. Gibson said residents formed a petition within the prior week asking for basic information: a relocation plan that meets requirements, the timeline and order of move‑outs, how rental assistance will be calculated, whether temporary moves into other units will be allowed during construction, and more timely, equitable communication.
Gibson asked the Commission and Department to communicate directly with the “hundreds of residents” she said had been kept in the dark. She said some residents were prepared to testify remotely as well. The transcript records Gibson’s testimony and her direct question to the Commission: “Why has no one told me about this plan?”
The provided segments end after her public testimony and before staff response to the specific petition requests is recorded in the supplied transcript. The concerns recorded in this testimony raise procedural and communications questions staff may need to address in follow‑up.
