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Consultant urges DHHL to pilot three 'fast-track' uses for underused trust lands
Summary
James Myoho proposed three interim tracks for underused Department of Hawaiian Home Lands parcels — emergency occupancy, transitional homesteading with tiny homes, and beneficiary stewardship agreements — and asked the commission to authorize a working group to develop pilots and templates to place people faster than traditional development.
A consultant presenting to the Hawaiian Homes Commission on Feb. 18 urged the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to adopt a parallel, faster path for putting beneficiaries on the land: short-term emergency occupancy, transitional homesteading pilots and stewardship-based beneficiary occupancy.
"There is a way to utilize some of these lands in a transitional way that allows shelter," said James Myoho, who described three tracks he said could place people on DHHL land more quickly than full development. Myoho asked the commission to "study this and authorize a working group to develop these three tracks further."
Myho argued full development projects are capital-intensive and slow, with costs he estimated in broad terms as much higher than smaller, temporary placements. "We're gonna measure success by the amount of heads we could put on a pillow at night," he said, framing the proposal as an urgent, humanitarian response that could also lower monitoring and holding costs for unutilized parcels.
His first track, he said, is an emergency occupancy option for at-risk parcels that need minimal infrastructure to shelter people in urgent circumstances. The second is a transitional homesteading pilot that would allow smaller temporary structures and regulatory relaxation so residents can build credit or save toward permanent housing. The third centers on stewardship or beneficiary-occupied lots under right-of-entry or stewardship agreements, where small groups manage and improve neglected parcels.
Myho pointed to existing revocable permits, right-of-entry authorities and interim disposition mechanisms in DHHL's charter and emergency powers as legal footholds for pilots. He said some projects outside DHHL — including tiny-home efforts that received OHA grant support — provided models that could be adapted.
Acting Chair Walt Kaniakua thanked Myoho for what he called "salient points" and said staff would review the concept. The commission did not take a formal vote during the public session; Myoho left resolution language and asked to stay involved as staff and commissioners consider next steps.
The commission indicated interest in studying the idea further and suggested staff follow up with additional data on parcels the consultant identified as possible pilots.
