WAIANAE

The top three topics of interest for the attendees of our Waianae Listening Tour were the Cost of Living (59%), Crime/Public Safety/Homelessness (33%), and Emergency Preparedness (27%). The topics within cost of living that attendees wanted to discuss were housing prices, taxes, and the Jones Act. Many respondents felt that the primary barrier to homeownership is the low wages resulting in the inability to meet the high prices, while also being outbid by foreign investors. As for the top public safety concerns, the community's input created a tie for violent crimes and drugs-substance abuse coming in at 30%, with homeless coming in at 27%. Residents suggested that the top priority for improving public safety should be tougher penalties for repeat offenders, expanding drug treatment and mental health services, and hiring more police officers to improve response times. The last pressing concern for respondents was emergency preparedness; community members were unsatisfied with the government's response to the most recent tsunami warning in late July. Attendees voiced their concern for the district being a single egress community with the lack of proper road infrastructure.