The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii on April 10, 2025, for consideration by the Senate Committees on Public Safety and Military Affairs and Housing.
_____________
April 10, 2025, 1 p.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 225 and Videoconference
To: Senate Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs
Sen. Brandon J.C. Elefante, Chair
Sen. Glenn Wakai, Vice Chair
Senate Committee on Housing
Sen. Stanley Chang, Chair
Sen. Troy N. Hashimoto, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: HCR66 — REQUESTING THE STATE BUILDING CODE COUNCIL TO ADOPT, AMEND, OR UPDATE THE STATE BUILDING CODE TO AUTHORIZE POINT ACCESS BLOCK CONSTRUCTION FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS UP TO SIX STORIES IN THE STATE.
Aloha Chairs, Vice Chairs and other members of the committees,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports HCR66, which would request that the State Building Code Council allow “point access block” construction for residences up to six stories.
“Point access block” refers to buildings with only one means of egress — in other words, one staircase. Honolulu County authorized such buildings in 2020.[1]
Stephen Smith, executive director of the Center for Building in North America, has documented that allowing single-stair apartment buildings could slash land costs for homebuilders[2] — one of the most significant cost components of construction in Hawaii.
In addition to Honolulu, New York City and Seattle permit single-stair apartment buildings, as do numerous Asian and European countries. Hawaii should join their lead and take this proposed small step toward solving its housing crisis.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns,
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
_____________
[1] Alex Horowitz, “Small Single-Stairway Apartment Buildings Have Strong Safety Record,” Pew Charitable Trusts, Feb. 27, 2025.
[2] “Staircase proposal could be small step toward more housing,” Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, Aug. 8, 2023.
