From the cover of the Keaukaha Residential Lots draft EA

HILO, Hawaii – Plans to rehabilitate older homes in the Keaukaha Hawaiian Home Lands community, as well as build new homes, are detailed in a draft environmental assessment.

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands anticipates a Finding of No Significant Impact as a result of the estimated $15 million project that could bring construction to 49 vacant lots in the 420 lot, 285 acre neighborhood. Other existing homes in poor condition where the household income is less than 80% of the median household income could be eligible for rehabilitation grants, the document states.

PBR HAWAI‘I & Associates, Inc is the Environmental Consultant for the document.

From a recent community power point presentation on the Keaukaha Residential Lots, within EA document.

Projects to be undertaken over the next five years include:

• Vacant awarded lots: DHHL plans to “encourage existing lessees to build where the lot has sat vacant all these years through package home loans or self-help housing”.
• Vacant available lots in DHHL inventory: DHHL will “improve as necessary (e.g., install water meter, turnkey home) and award any available lots, and to increase density where possible through subdivision of larger parcels, to enable leasing to additional beneficiaries on the wait list.” DHHL says the additional density created by subdivision “would be limited to lots within DHHL’s inventory with minimum resulting lot size of 10,000 s.f.”
• Older existing homes: DHHL proposes to rehabilitate older homes for qualified lessees; those with a household income less than 80% of median. Rehabilitation would include “interior and exterior modifications (e.g., reroofing, repainting), as necessary. For those older homes that do not meet HUD’s requirements for safe/decent housing, the project would involve demolition and replacement with new construction approximately within the same footprint.”

Federal (Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) funds) and possibly State funds will be used. The EA says individual projects will commence by summer 2016 and “will persist as long as funds and eligible applicants are available over the next 5 to 10 years.”

From the Keaukaha Residential Lots draft EA

LINK: Keaukaha Residential Lots draft EA