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The following is the testimony of Deacon Stan Franco, President of FACE Maui, at the meeting of the Maui County Public Services Committee on January 13, 2010.

Good morning Chair Nishiki and Members of the Public Service Committee:

My name is Stan Franco and I am the President of FACE MAUI.  I am here to speak on behalf of its almost 30 congregations and community organizations.  We represent families from all walks of life.  FACE MAUI knows these families personally; they sit in the pews of our churches such as St. Anthony , the Christian Ministry Church, Lahaina United Methodist, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church,  Maria Lanakila, and Christ the King Catholic to name a few . The members of these congregations decided that affordable housing is one of their major concerns and that is why we are here today.

We are proud that our county passed a Residential Workforce Housing Ordinance.  We need more homes built that are affordable to families with mom and dad working in government, in tourism, in construction and other related industries.  So, the spirit of the law is crucial – the goal is more affordable homes in Maui County.

Not enough fee simple and rental housing units for working families have ever been built, and it’s a crying public need.  Every day, good families on Maui, Molokai, and Lanai are being forced into impossible living situations, or even cornered into moving to the Mainland, to put an affordable roof over their heads.  What we have built so far does not reflect who we are!

FACE MAUI is clear about one thing:  What, where and how we build homes for Maui’s people  will determine who we become.

Today, you are discussing the letter of the law – specifically, one way a potential developer may satisfy the ordinance and help move our county in the right direction – of insuring that more affordable homes are constructed – and of putting our laborers and carpenters and our real estate community back to work at the same time.

The amendment you are considering today proposes to decrease the percentage of affordable units from 40% to 25% required in a proposed development in projects with market-rate houses below $600,000 dollars. Some have testified that 40% is too steep a number to realize when all the costs are computed.

FACE Maui believes that a double bottom line needs to be considered by this committee—a reasonable profit for the builder AND affordable homes actually constructed.  A win-win solution is what we know the committee is seeking today and we do too.

We recognize that for every affordable unit that is built, some amount of potential profit is lost by the builder.  We also know that for every affordable unit that is NOT built, a real Maui County family will not have a home to have family gatherings like baby’s first birthday, Christmas or New Year’s family celebrations, or simply a place for the kids to do their homework.

Out of respect and love for the families we know and the many that we don’t, FACE Maui believes that a decrease from 40% to 30% can be justified. However, we also believe that the 30% should be applied only to household incomes in 80% to 120% brackets. We think that those with incomes over 120% can afford to buy market priced homes today.

Here’s an example of the scenario we believe the 30% affordable, on-site could work:

In a proposed development of 100 homes, 70 would be market rate and 30 would be affordable, with 15 homes built for families at 80 to 100% and 15 homes for folks at 100 to 120% of area median income.

With the proposed 25% scenario, this would be the math:

With 100 homes proposed, 75 would be at market-rate; 25 would be affordable.  Half the homes (12.5) would be at 80 – 100% and 12.5 homes for families at 100- 120% of area median.

A difference of only 5 units in the spreadsheet, but a difference of 5 HOMES for our families.

In addition, FACE MAUI is aware that further modifications to the Residential Workforce Housing Ordinance will be proposed this year and wants to share, in advance, some of the general reflections of our organization on any new proposals to change the current Residential Workforce Housing Policy.

First, we would like to see this ordinance function to produce housing for working families.  While we are grateful for every single affordable unit produced for any member of our community, whether by for-profit or non-profit developers, FACE Maui lifts up the reality faced by families starting out or squeaking by on multiple jobs (many part-time) in the high cost economy of Maui County.  They don’t have many good options available to them, and there are thousands of these families who are waiting for homes which they can buy without jeopardizing their financial futures.

Second, we believe that mixed-income communities are possible and beneficial for Maui County.  We have always lived together from plantation days when we shared our foods, our homes and our cultures. Isolating people from each other because of how many dollars we have in the bank is foreign to us. We cannot continue going down this path because we will lose our spirit of aloha and ohana which welcomes all the people who come to visit us from many lands. It is just right that we live together in an open society.

Third, we are pleased to see the Public Services Committee wrestling with these hard issues on how to increase affordable housing for our residents—even under the stress of the most painful economic squeeze many of us can remember.  We would like to partner with you, the Maui County Council and the County Administration to investigate productive and efficient mechanisms for land acquisition and development of homes truly affordable to those families sitting in the pews of our churches and all others who want to live, raise their children and die here.

Thank you for listening.  May Akua continue to bless your work for his people.

The following is the testimony of Deacon Stan Franco, President of FACE Maui, at the meeting of the Maui County Public Services Committee on January 13, 2010.:

Good morning Chair Nishiki and Members of the Public Service Committee:

My name is Stan Franco and I am the President of FACE MAUI.  I am here to speak on behalf of its almost 30 congregations and community organizations.  We represent families from all walks of life.  FACE MAUI knows these families personally; they sit in the pews of our churches such as St. Anthony , the Christian Ministry Church, Lahaina United Methodist, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church,  Maria Lanakila, and Christ the King Catholic to name a few . The members of these congregations decided that affordable housing is one of their major concerns and that is why we are here today.

We are proud that our county passed a Residential Workforce Housing Ordinance.  We need more homes built that are affordable to families with mom and dad working in government, in tourism, in construction and other related industries.  So, the spirit of the law is crucial – the goal is more affordable homes in Maui County.

Not enough fee simple and rental housing units for working families have ever been built, and it’s a crying public need.  Every day, good families on Maui, Molokai, and Lanai are being forced into impossible living situations, or even cornered into moving to the Mainland, to put an affordable roof over their heads.  What we have built so far does not reflect who we are!

FACE MAUI is clear about one thing:  What, where and how we build homes for Maui’s people  will determine who we become.

Today, you are discussing the letter of the law – specifically, one way a potential developer may satisfy the ordinance and help move our county in the right direction – of insuring that more affordable homes are constructed – and of putting our laborers and carpenters and our real estate community back to work at the same time.

The amendment you are considering today proposes to decrease the percentage of affordable units from 40% to 25% required in a proposed development in projects with market-rate houses below $600,000 dollars. Some have testified that 40% is too steep a number to realize when all the costs are computed.

FACE Maui believes that a double bottom line needs to be considered by this committee—a reasonable profit for the builder AND affordable homes actually constructed.  A win-win solution is what we know the committee is seeking today and we do too.

We recognize that for every affordable unit that is built, some amount of potential profit is lost by the builder.  We also know that for every affordable unit that is NOT built, a real Maui County family will not have a home to have family gatherings like baby’s first birthday, Christmas or New Year’s family celebrations, or simply a place for the kids to do their homework.

Out of respect and love for the families we know and the many that we don’t, FACE Maui believes that a decrease from 40% to 30% can be justified. However, we also believe that the 30% should be applied only to household incomes in 80% to 120% brackets. We think that those with incomes over 120% can afford to buy market priced homes today.

Here’s an example of the scenario we believe the 30% affordable, on-site could work:

In a proposed development of 100 homes, 70 would be market rate and 30 would be affordable, with 15 homes built for families at 80 to 100% and 15 homes for folks at 100 to 120% of area median income.

With the proposed 25% scenario, this would be the math:

With 100 homes proposed, 75 would be at market-rate; 25 would be affordable.  Half the homes (12.5) would be at 80 – 100% and 12.5 homes for families at 100- 120% of area median.

A difference of only 5 units in the spreadsheet, but a difference of 5 HOMES for our families.

In addition, FACE MAUI is aware that further modifications to the Residential Workforce Housing Ordinance will be proposed this year and wants to share, in advance, some of the general reflections of our organization on any new proposals to change the current Residential Workforce Housing Policy.

First, we would like to see this ordinance function to produce housing for working families.  While we are grateful for every single affordable unit produced for any member of our community, whether by for-profit or non-profit developers, FACE Maui lifts up the reality faced by families starting out or squeaking by on multiple jobs (many part-time) in the high cost economy of Maui County.  They don’t have many good options available to them, and there are thousands of these families who are waiting for homes which they can buy without jeopardizing their financial futures.

Second, we believe that mixed-income communities are possible and beneficial for Maui County.  We have always lived together from plantation days when we shared our foods, our homes and our cultures. Isolating people from each other because of how many dollars we have in the bank is foreign to us. We cannot continue going down this path because we will lose our spirit of aloha and ohana which welcomes all the people who come to visit us from many lands. It is just right that we live together in an open society.

Third, we are pleased to see the Public Services Committee wrestling with these hard issues on how to increase affordable housing for our residents—even under the stress of the most painful economic squeeze many of us can remember.  We would like to partner with you, the Maui County Council and the County Administration to investigate productive and efficient mechanisms for land acquisition and development of homes truly affordable to those families sitting in the pews of our churches and all others who want to live, raise their children and die here.

Thank you for listening.  May Akua continue to bless your work for his people.

items of interest

FACE Maui Gamaliel Foundation