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Chase Hasegawa and his wife Isabelle Reed were born and raised on Kauai and have achieved a measure of housing stability, which is rare for people in their 20s in Hawaii. They both work service jobs at a shave ice store and a donut shop, but for the past four years they have managed by sharing their apartment with another couple. Now the life they built and that of 81 other households is facing the threat of eviction. 

On Jan. 26, the Hawaiian Home Lands Commission voted to approve the request of Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Chair Kali Watson to enter into “an option to purchase” the 82 unit Courtyards of Waipouli in Kauai. The chair pushed for the proposal citing the need to spend down federal funds for Native Hawaiians.

Watson also pointed to a last minute email survey sent to Kauai beneficiaries with a response rate of 4.5% which reported that 40% “would be very interested in accepting a townhome at Courtyards at Waipouli as their homestead.”

The commissioner from Kauai, Dennis Neves, protested that the email survey was comprised of leading questions, did not accurately depict the mostly 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments of Waipouli (they are not townhomes), and that the proposal is for rentals with an option to purchase after 15 years.

This is not the picture of “homestead leases” that most beneficiaries have in mind. Neves reminded the commission of a professional survey conducted in 2020 by SMS research in which condominium living was the least popular option, with less than 1% selecting it as their top choice.

Beneficiaries who attended the hearing were also overwhelmingly against the proposal, with 32 in opposition and only two from Oahu in support.

“Our people want land,” cried out Kainoa McDonald while presenting a petition signed by over 130 members of the Association of Hawaiians for Homestead Lands.

For Chase Hasegawa, who is 20% Native Hawaiian and does not meet the 50% threshold to be a Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiary, the idea of being evicted from his apartment for other Hawaiians who strongly prefer leasehold land does not make sense.

“I have family members in Kekaha that are on the beneficiary list, however, they would not want to live in this building. They are wanting to have land where they can spread out,” he testified.

Isabelle Reed also pleaded with the commission to reconsider. “It is really hard to find places that are affordable, please keep us in mind as residents,” she implored.

She and the other Waipouli residents who petitioned in opposition have reason to be worried. Kauai simply does not have 82 affordable rentals available. As an example, Waipouli has 42 apartments that are 2-bedroom and have rents below $3,000 a month. Currently, there are only eight 2-bedroom apartments across the entire island at that price.

Teachers, health care providers, Costco and Safeway workers who live at Waipouli will all be competing in a very tight housing market. They will either pay more for housing or leave the island. And Kauai already has a dire local workforce shortage.

A dentist from Waipouli, Yunsang Park, spoke on this. “Medical offices are all looking for employees because there are none on the island. Three hygienists I work with have left due to lack of housing. Evicting all of the current residents will worsen the housing crisis and labor shortage. Please take into account the people that live and work on Kauai,” he urged.

Unfortunately, the commission did not. Even with every resident from Kauai testifying in opposition, two commissioners from Big Island and two from Oahu voted with Watson in the 5-to-3 decision to spend $25 million in DHHL funds for the acquisition.

Fortunately, this is not the final funding approval needed. Although the building appraised for $44 million, the DHHL deal requires another $29 million in public funds due to converting Waipouli to a low-income rental. Later this month DHHL plans to submit an application to the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation for the remaining funds.

In total, Waipouli will cost taxpayers $54 million for a rental apartment that Hawaiian beneficiaries do not want, while at the same time evicting over 100 local workers and exacerbating the housing and workforce shortage on Kauai. This does not seem like a wise use of public funds.

There is a better option.

For the past four months Waipouli residents have been organizing to form a “local workforce housing cooperative” with support from national experts in cooperative housing. Cooperative housing is where the building is owned by a corporation and then residents own shares in exchange for a “right of occupancy” to their unit.

Oahu currently has three successful housing cooperatives. Residents control the building and costs have only increased 1-2% a year instead of the 5-10% increases we see with private market rentals. Waipouli would be Kauai’s first housing cooperative.

Realizing this vision will require some investment by the county and other partners but it would allow the 70% of residents who work locally to stay and minimize disruption to the Kauai economy.

Everyone agrees Kauai has a worker shortage, so let’s help solve the problem instead of making it worse.

to support a workforce co-op.