Newsletter Winter 2001

Information by State  Print version

Hawaii Receives $15.9 Million and Guam Receives $2 Million in HUD Funding

Leeward Community College will receive $399,848 to create a Telecommunications Institute for Economic Development at Waianae High School to provide job training and business development opportunities through the use of digital technologies. This is one of three projects that the University of Hawaii will fund with a $1,192,700 Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Institutions Assisting Communities (AN/NHIAC) Program grant from HUD.

Other project awards include $398,749 to Kauai Community College for the completion of a youth center in Anahola with supportive services such as an after-school program, computer training, and health education. Maui Community College will receive $394,103 for an agricultural and vocational training center on Molokai to provide job training and agricultural entrepreneurship development to stimulate the island's economy.

Other recipients of HUD funding include

HUD grants awarded to Guam include

News Flash: City Bank Donates Computers

Residents at Hale Pauahi, Kulana Nani, Wilikina Apartments, Helemano Plantation Village, and Kuhio Park Terrace were the beneficiaries of 78 PCs and 12 monitors from City Bank; monitors from Helping Hands Hawaii will supplement the PCs. This welcome donation will assist in the development and expansion of Neighborhood Network centers.

Launched in 1995, Neighborhood Network centers reflect private/public partnerships to address the digital divide. The initiative, created by HUD, establishes multi-service community technology centers (CTCs) to bring digital opportunity and lifelong learning to residents of insured and assisted housing. There are more than 800 Neighborhood Networks centers operating in HUD multifamily housing properties throughout the United States, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. There are 10 official and emerging Neighborhood Network centers in Hawaii.

Neighborhood Network centers are tailor-made to fit the identified resident needs of each local community. They open the doors - both on-site and via the Internet - to an infinite array of job opportunities, social services, micro-enterprise possibilities, and educational programs. For more information, visit the Neighborhood Networks website or call Mike at 522-8185 extension 246 or Ramona at extension 249.

Manufactured Housing - A New Alternative for Hawaii

Hawaii now has a new option available when it comes to buying a home - Manufactured Housing. Hawaiian Palisade Homes, LLC is producing homes at its new manufactured housing plant located in Kapolei. Company staff is excited to be able to provide an affordable housing alternative for the people of Hawaii.

The National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 requires the Secretary of HUD to establish Federal manufactured home construction and safety standards and to issue regulations to carry out the purpose of the Act. The standards apply to all manufactured homes manufactured for sale to purchasers in the United States on or after June 15, 1976.

All manufactured housing companies must submit their design plans for approval to an independent inspection agency that is approved by HUD. In addition, the manufactured housing plant must be certified to insure that the homes are being constructed according to the Federal standard and the approved designs, and that the company is following its quality control plan.

Currently, Hawaiian Palisade Homes' designs have been approved, but the company is still in the process of having its manufactured housing plant certified. During the certification process, an independent HUD approved inspection agency inspects every home at every stage of the manufacturing process. Upon completion, if the home construction is in conformance with Federal manufactured home construction and safety standards, then a certification label is placed on the home. Once a manufactured housing plant is certified, the inspection agency will continue to do a surveillance of the plant; inspecting every home at least at one stage of the manufacturing process.

Companies that produce manufactured housing must certify that the homes being produced meet the Federal standards. This certification is evidenced by the placement of a certification label on the manufactured home. This certification label must be permanently affixed to the home in order for the home to be eligible for FHA financing.

Since Hawaii does not have a State Administrative Agency to help enforce the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, the Manufactured Housing Standards Division of HUD in Washington DC should be contacted for any questions or concerns regarding the standards in Hawaii. For more information, please call Claudine Allen at 522-8175, ext. 223.

Increased Mortgage Limits for Maui County

As of November 28, 2001, the FHA maximum mortgage limits for Maui County have increased. The new limits are as follows: One-Family Unit $237,500; Two-Family Unit $267,500; Three-Family Unit $325,000; Four-Family Unit $375,000. Mortgage limits for all other Counties in Hawaii remain the same. For information on FHA mortgage limits, visit HUD's website.

Brownfields Conference Highlights Hawaii's Redevelopment Potential

The Brownfields Hawaii 2001 conference held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on October 18 provided participants with a nuts-and-bolts overview of the emerging brownfields redevelopment industry. It showcased nationally recognized experts in brownfields liability, remediation, financing, and redevelopment culled from the successful EPA brownfield conferences held on the mainland.

Brownfield is a term to describe, "A class of properties for which use and redevelopment is complicated by past use." Brownfields may contain obsolete and/or abandoned buildings and facilities in some stage of disrepair. Or brownfields may contain hazardous waste, contaminated soil or water, or may be underused properties that attract illegal dumping. These sites represent potentially valuable community assets. Redevelopment can help bring a variety of benefits to a community such as expand the local tax base, create new jobs, stimulate economic revitalization, and if its an urban infill project, can improve the neighborhood aesthetics.

Hawaii currently has an EPA Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Initiative (housed in the State Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism) to galvanize economic redevelopment efforts locally. HUD is a partner in both the Brownfields Pilot and in shaping and participating in the Brownfields Conference. HUD's toolbox for brownfields redevelopment includes the Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI), Economic Development Initiative (EDI), Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program, and Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG).

Grantees and Nonprofits Stock Their Toolbox

Nearly 80 staff of state and county government and nonprofit organizations filled their economic toolbox with new ideas, tools and techniques for economic development following a two-day workshop with HUD technical assistance contractor and community-based economic development expert Rocky Wade of Tonya, Inc. The representatives of nonprofit organizations spent the evenings of October 29 and 30 learning how to better use HUD CDBG and Section 108 programs to implement their strategic plans for creating jobs and revitalizing the economic base of their communities. In addition, they learned how to underwrite proposed economic development projects. A more detailed session for state and county government staff and nonprofits unable to attend the evening sessions were held during the day on October 31 and November 1.

The training emphasized the importance of using public funding to leverage private sector capital as an effective way of increasing the amount of resources available to meet the needs of a community. The participants were also introduced to the advantages of establishing Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Areas to allow for a more flexible use of CDBG funds and to come up with more innovative approaches to economic development. Fore more information on the Economic Development Toolbox contact Mark Chandler at 808-522-8180 x261.

The Sixth Annual Statewide Homeless Forum

The ability of government agencies and nonprofit organizations to serve the homeless will be put to the test in the next several months as Hawaii's economy continues to suffer following the terrorist attack on September 11. It is anticipated that many of those who lost their jobs will soon run out of savings and time and will find themselves homeless. At the same time, over 500 families are losing their welfare assistance as they reach their five-year lifetime limitation.

Over 80 representatives of nonprofit service providers, government agencies and advocates for the homeless met on November 16 at the Hawaii State Capitol to identify the gaps in meeting the needs of the homeless and to list the possible solutions to filling the gaps. The Sixth Annual Statewide Homeless Forum was appropriately titled The Changing Dynamics of Homelessness to reflect the major impact that September 11 is having on Hawaii's economy and on the amount of resources available to meet the homeless needs.

Participants agreed that now is the time for all stakeholders in the homeless continuum to think outside the box to find innovative solutions and to better coordinate the available resources to maximize the benefits of the limited resources. For more information on the Homeless Forum, contact the HCDCH Homeless Section at 808-832-5930.

Fair Housing Accessibility Workshops A Success

About 70 percent of all new multifamily housing is being built in violation of The Law, according to U.S. Department of Justice Trial Attorney, Sunny Pietrafesa. The law that Ms. Pietrafesa was referring to is the design and construction requirements in the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. Ms. Pietrafesa along with Mark J. Mazz, an Architect also with the Department of Justice, provided two interesting and intense workshops on Fair Housing Accessibility Design and Construction.

The well-attended workshops, held October 22 and October 23, 2001, were co-sponsored by the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, the Hawaii State Disability and Communication Access Board, the Building Industry Association of Hawaii, the Honolulu Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and HUD. Participants included members from the building and construction industry, engineers, architects, and various professionals and advocates involved in Civil Rights, Fair Housing, and Disability Rights.

Attendees were treated to a concise, yet thorough, overview of the various laws and regulations requiring physical accessibility for persons with disabilities with useful flow-charts explaining which laws would apply in different case-scenarios. However, the main focus of the presentations was on the Fair Housing Act, as amended.

Presenters explained that the Act's amendments set forth seven requirements for accessible design in new construction. The seven requirements are: (1) an accessible entrance on an accessible route; (2) accessible and usable public and common-use areas; (3) usable doors; (4) an accessible route into and through dwelling units; (5) accessible light switches, electrical outlets, and environmental controls; (6) reinforced walls for grab bars in bathrooms; and (7) usable kitchens and bathrooms.

With excellent visual illustrations and lively discussion of actual recent cases, Ms. Pietrafesa and Mr. Mazz both gave a first-rate, attention-grabbing training. Some of the major Fair Housing Amendments Act ("FHAA") requirements highlighted were:

• FHAA covers residential multi-family dwellings for first occupancy after March 13, 1991 (covered multi-family dwellings are all types of buildings with 4 or more units);
• FHAA includes condos, single-story townhouses, garden apartments, vacation timeshares, dormitories, and homeless shelters;
• FHAA requires covered buildings with an elevator to make all units in buildings accessible; and
• FHAA requires covered buildings without an elevator to make all ground-floor units (including ground-floors at different levels in the same building) accessible.

For those who missed a wonderful training opportunity and for those who would like additional information on the Fair Housing Act Accessibility Guidelines, please visit HUD's website.

Waipahu's Revitalization Moves Ahead!

By Darrlyn Bunda
Executive Director of Waipahu Community Assn.

On November 11, 2001, the 103-year old plantation town of Waipahu came alive once again with an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 celebrating the community's first annual "Taste of Waipahu-Plantation Culture Lives!" Attendees from all parts of Oahu joined with present and former Waipahuans in "tasting" the community's multi-cultural diversity through food, entertainment, ethnic parades, arts and crafts, and games.

Activities abounded throughout the town core at Hans L'Orange Park, along Depot Road and Waipahu Street, and at Hawaii's Plantation Village. In addition to the many vendors of fresh produce and seafood, local arts and crafts, and ethnic foods (which included Waipahu restaurants and students from Leeward Community College's Culinary Arts program), there was a "mystery basket" cooking contest between Waipahu and Castle High Schools, "Taste of Lumpia" demonstrations by well-known local chefs, pancit cooking contests and an Iron Chef Cooking Challenge.

For the young and the young-at-heart, there were two ethnic parades, live entertainment on three stages, a Keiki Korner complete with inflatable jumpers and slide, horse rides, a live on-site radio broadcast, and a Weed & Seed celebrity dunking booth, where "dunkees" included Chief of Police Lee Donohue, Jake Shimabukuro, and TV personalities from each of the four local channels.

The event, organized by four, non-profit Waipahu organizations (Fil-Com Center, Friends of Cultural Garden Park, Hans L'Orange Park Council, and the Waipahu Community Association) and funded with a $25,000 Hawaii Tourism Authority grant, was both a successful community-building tool and a major step towards the community's economic and social revitalization. The excitement generated by all of the day's activities and the gratification of accomplishing a major community event with the help of so many volunteers from churches, schools, and service providers, plus the numerous in-kind donations of products and services from businesses, has sparked renewed pride in the community. Now the community can't wait to put on the 2nd annual "Taste of Waipahu!"

Calendar of Events

For Profit and Non-Profit Business Development Summit/Job Fair. "Kokua Oahu" on January 25, 2002 - Neal Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. For more information, call Mike Flores at 522-8185 x246.

Waianae Coast Community Summit. 7:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. on January 30, 2002 - Marriott/Ihilani Resort. For more information, call Lynn at 696-1217.

2002 BIA Homebuilding and Remodeling Show. January 31 - February 3, 2002 at Neal Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. For more information, call the Building Industry Association at 847-4666.

We appreciate any comments or input you have about our quarterly newsletter, Na Hana Ku Aloha. You may send your comments and input on information you would like covered in this newsletter by sending an email to Ramona Mullahey. If you have a new address, please email that information to Ramona or call her at 522-8175, ext. 249.

We wish a joyous and safe holiday season to all our friends and partners. We look forward to working with you as we continue strengthening our communities in 2002.