Have you checked out The Hot Seat? It's our opinion-page blog that brings in your elected leaders and people in the news and lets you ask the questions during a live online chat.

On The Hot Seat last week was Dan Davidson, the new executive director of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. Below is an excerpt from that Hot Seat session. To see the full conversation, go to The Hot Seat blog at www.honolululadvertiser.com/opinion and click on "On the Hot Seat: HHFDC Director Dan Davidson." (Names of questioners are screen names given during our online chat.)

Ken Adams: What is your take on imposing affordable housing requirements on industrial developments? Do you feel it is necessary or that such requirements are too tenuous?

Dan Davidson: I think it de pends upon the circumstances. In an area where there is already a lot of housing, such a requirement probably is not necessary. In areas where there is a lack of housing, such a condition may be warranted. That kind of decision is a local, county-level decision.

Lahela: Will there ever be any affordable housing projects on the Windward side of the island? The west side is getting too congested.

Davidson: We are always searching for available state land on which to develop affordable housing, including on the Windward side. We also are in contact with private landowners on the Windward side to see if partnership opportunities are available.

Phil Robertson: What do you think is the future of development and the development industry in Hawai'i, given our limited water supply and the almost prohibitive costs of desalination? Are we supposed to have trust and confidence in the people who tell us that it is good to grow, population-wise, when our honey bees are disappearing because of the GMO food necessary to feed the growing population of the globe?

Davidson: Our focus at HHFDC is on the production of affordable housing. Such development will not occur unless there is sufficient water and other supporting infrastructure.

Chris: With the current housing crisis and lack of available land, have you explored any ideas to convert buildings for housing? I think ideal candidates would be self-storage facilities.

Davidson: Good idea. The state is currently converting buildings for housing. At Kalaeloa (former Barbers Point), former barracks and office buildings have been and are being converted for housing.

Julia Matsui-Estrella: What are the plans to build affordable rentals for families with three-four children where the family makes $25,000 or less? This seems to be the biggest need right now, since I work closely with so many families in this situation.

Davidson: HHFDC is aggressively seeking to provide rental housing opportunities for households earning 60 percent of the median income ($44,700) and below.

Steve Doyle: While Hawai'i Housing Finance and Development Corp.'s efforts at providing affordable housing units, including sale and rental, are to be applauded, we still have a serious housing shortage in Hawai'i. And there are only enough affordable rental units available to meet the needs of half the households that are looking for them (Advertiser editorial, Aug. 1).

What would you and HHFDC suggest as a remedy? State legislative budget allocations and increases to your budget? Further tax incentives for developers? Or possibly federal government assistance and involvement?

Davidson: Gov. Lingle sought in excess of $100 million in her budget request to the 2007 Legislature for affordable housing. The 2007 Legislature provided $15 million for rental housing, which is a start but not nearly enough. Adequate funding for affordable housing is critical, and we anticipate seeking such funding next year.

Tina: Who determines what affordable housing costs? To me, affordable housing costs $100,000-$200,000. Anything more than that and I wouldn't be able to afford it.

Davidson: Our mandate at HHFDC is to provide affordable housing at income ranges from about 50 percent of the median income up to 140 percent of the median income. This includes affordable and workforce housing for Hawai'i's hard-working families. Most of the opportunities at the lower range of affordability are in the rental housing area. Our goal over the next five years is to produce more than 4,000 affordable rentals.

Rolf Nordahl: Aside from you and your staff of 50, how many people in Hawai'i are afforded housing by the Hawai'i Housing Finance and Development Corp.?

Does HHFDC ensure that affordable housing actually helps our local population as opposed to folks moving here from America? How?

Davidson: First of all, HHFDC does not provide housing for its staff. Our for-sale affordable housing units must be sold to owner-occupants who can own no other property in Hawai'i. Because of the income limits for our housing programs, our target market is always the local community; not investors or speculators.

HawnEyEz: With the amount of development throughout the United States (and in Hawai'i) is it really a housing shortage that we have, or an "affordable" housing shortage that is in imbalance to the supply and demand? What perspective do you have to adjust or equalize that problem, if you perceive it that way? Do you think that is feasible in that respect?

Davidson: We think there is a shortage of affordable housing, both rental and for sale. We view our mandate as producing as much affordable housing as we can. Our goal over the next five years is to facilitate the development of over 6,000 affordable rental and for-sale units.

Cheryl: How does your department fit with or differ from other state housing agencies now in existence? Is this just another bureaucratic layer to solving a major problem here?

Davidson: We view ourselves as a proactive housing agency, whose sole mission is to develop and finance affordable housing. In this regard, we are unique. Our staff is totally dedicated to working with nonprofit and for-profit housing developers to get housing built.

Kyle K.: Can you provide some insight on why we as a community have been unable to adequately meet our state's affordable housing needs?

Davidson: I think that until recently, not enough attention was paid to the affordable housing issue. As a result, not only was affordable housing not funded, but funds intended for affordable housing were diverted by the Legislature for other purposes. This has placed the state in a catch-up mode in terms of affordable housing. We believe there is a renewed focus, by all, on the production of affordable housing, and we're optimistic that more housing will get built.

John K: It appears that the affordable housing program is only for newly built homes. Someone may qualify and buy an affordable home, then in two-three years turn around and sell it for market value. Are there restrictions on resales? What is being done to make existing older homes affordable?

Davidson: HHFDC programs may also be used for the preservation of existing affordable housing. The state's efforts to preserve the 857 units in Kukui Gardens is a good example of this. In terms of new development, there are both buyback and shared appreciation requirements that are imposed on new buyers of affordable housing that guard against speculation.

Joe: What is it like to be on the other side of the coin now? Being in the private sector and now with the state. How do you work with the city to ensure (your) office and the city are working together to help solve our lack of affordable housing for all? Maybe you could give examples of state/city cooperative efforts to help solve the problem.

Davidson: HHFDC has a great staff, and we're focused on developing housing. I don't view it as a private sector versus government issue. We're all in this together. Frequently, rental housing projects are financed by both HHFDC and the city and county. The recent Senior Residence at Kapolei project is utilizing federal, state and county funds in order to support the project. We believe strongly in working closely with all the counties on our affordable housing projects. We recently co-sponsored a housing workshop with Maui Mayor Tavares and her staff. Our upcoming Keahuolu project in West Hawai'i is in partnership with Hawai'i County. We will be working with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and Kaua'i County on affordable housing opportunities.