Yesterday, Governor Josh Green, M.D. signed an Emergency Proclamation on Housing (EP).

The EP will speed the safe construction of thousands of public, low-income, affordable, workforce, and market-rate for-sale and rental units for Hawaiʻi residents statewide. Chief Housing Officer Nani Medeiros served as lead on the plan and Chief Housing Officer Medeiros included input from more than 200 people across a spectrum of stakeholders.

The EP will establish a working group to improve the coordination of state and county agencies and ensure housing projects keep on schedule. It will also provide flexibility to direct resources to state and county agencies to accelerate plan reviews.

The proclamation directs all state agencies to prioritize housing reviews, plans, approvals, and permit processing. It also means additional state resources will be directed to address the affordable housing crisis.

In a statement Governor Green said, “We have suffered the effects of the critical and growing  housing crisis for far too long. We have a teacher shortage because of it. We have a shortage of healthcare workers because of it – and because of it, more native Hawaiians now live on the continent, than in our islands. Today, we embark upon bold action to streamline processes for creating thousands of affordable housing units, while ensuring respect for iwi kūpuna and our environment.”

Photo credit: Office of Governor Josh Green