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video by David Corrigan

VIDEO: Are Buyouts Being Considered By HUD Disaster Recovery Officials?

by Big Island Video News
on Nov 18, 2019 at 7:10 am

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STORY SUMMARY

HILO, Hawaiʻi - The possibility of buyouts in Lava Zones 1 and 2 following the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea was discussed at Friday's Hawaiʻi County Housing Agency meeting.

(BIVN) – Federal officials with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, were asked on Friday during a Hawaiʻi County Housing Agency meeting in the Hilo whether buyouts are being considered for properties following the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano.

The County is expecting to receive millions in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds in the wake of the volcanic eruption in Puna.

“To have a buyout, you have to have a logical reason for why you’re buying out those properties,” said Kevin O’Neill, Assistant Director for HUD’s Disaster Recovery and Special Issues Division (DRSI) in San Francisco . “You would have to identify areas of highest risk and have an explanation or rationale for why you’re doing buyouts.”

“It’s kind of hard to have a rationale for buying out properties in an area where you’re issuing building permits,” O’Neill said.

Puna resident Susan Kim also had some questions for the HUD team, which she was able to ask during the meeting.

Video by David Corrigan, published to YouTube on November 18, 2019.

Kim asked if waivers could be used for housing projects in Lava Zones 1 and 2, where federal officials previously confirmed HUD would not support such projects. 

Mark Chandler, the Community Planning Development Director for the HUD Honolulu field office, “the Department has taken the position – I can even tell you the words that our assistant Secretary said at the time – ‘I’m
not gonna let somebody die there’. When they’re taking that strong a position out of headquarters, they’re not gonna waive it.”


Filed Under: Puna Tagged With: Ashley Kierkiewicz, CDBG-DR, Susan Kim

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