County housing lease plan advances after 7-2 committee vote

Nonprofits serving very low-income households stood to gain six county-owned homes under a plan that would set annual rent at just $10, while Waiakea Uka neighbors kept fighting the county’s handling of 76 Makani Circle. Hawaiʻi County Council’s Finance Committee moved the proposal ahead on a 7-2 vote, sending it to the full council after weeks of delays and neighborhood backlash.

The measure, Resolution 475-26, would authorize the Director of Finance to negotiate leases of county-owned real property to nonprofit organizations for permanent housing. The draft says the Office of Housing and Community Development acquired seven residential properties with Emergency Rental Assistance 2 funds, then issued a request for proposals on Nov. 5, 2025. After objections over 76 Makani Circle, that home was removed from the list, leaving six properties in the resolution when the committee acted.

The plan would lease the homes for long-term housing for underserved people who face major barriers to safe and affordable shelter. Qualifying households would have to be very low income, at or below 50% of area median income, and lease terms would have to run at least six months. The initial county lease would run from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2027, with four one-year renewal options.

At the center of the dispute was 76 Makani Circle, a three-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot home on a third-acre lot in Waiakea Uka that the county bought in October for $809,000 using federal funds. County records and prior reporting show the house had been slated for Going Home Hawaiʻi, a Hilo nonprofit focused on justice-involved people, before that property was pulled from the proposal after neighborhood objections.

The committee had already postponed the resolution on March 3 and again on March 17 before recommending adoption on April 7, after more than an hour in executive session and testimony. The hearing drew 40 written testimonies in opposition and five in favor, including three from nonprofit executives. All but one of the people who spoke against it on Tuesday came from Makani Circle. Neighbor Joan Toledo said the county was making “a poor use of money,” while resident Marsha Krieger raised concerns about ethics and transparency. Many speakers said their families had lived there for two or three generations and said the county had not communicated clearly about its plans.

The committee also asked Corporation Counsel for a legal memo on compliance with the federal Fair Housing Act, the state Adults With Disabilities Act and related laws. Deputy Corporation Counsel Sylvia Wan told lawmakers they must follow the Fair Housing Act when considering the leases, and county guidance says municipalities are covered by the law’s protections against discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status or disability.

Supporters are trying to keep federal emergency money from expiring by turning existing county assets into housing, not waiting for new construction. The county also awarded $6 million in Homelessness and Housing Fund grants in December 2025 to 12 projects run by eight nonprofit agencies. What the full council decides now will shape whether six existing homes become long-term housing for very low-income residents, or remain a symbol of a process many Waiakea Uka neighbors still do not trust.