As your mayor, I wholeheartedly support the development of attainable and affordable housing, including low-cost rentals for our residents. Housing availability
For many Maui County residents, the dream of owning a home feels out of reach.
Even for those fortunate enough to realize this dream, soaring real estate prices in a competitive market often mean sacrificing quality of life while facing the burdens of huge down payments and monthly mortgage payments.
The median sales price of a single-family home on Maui is quickly approaching $1 million (“Maui’s March home prices tie record of $980,000,” The Maui News, April 16). According to the most recent census data, the median household income in Maui County is just over $80,000.
Meanwhile, the number of single-family homes available for sale in March 2021 dropped to just 221 more than 50 percent lower than in March 2020 the lowest count in a decade.
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A diverse slate of nine residents was recommended by a Maui County Council committee on Tuesday to sit on a commission tasked with updating Maui County’s main guiding document.
If approved by the full council, the nine nominees will join two mayoral appointees on the Charter Commission, which will meet from March 1 to July 1, 2022 to study and review the Maui County Charter, which outlines the responsibilities of the local government from the mayor to the council and each department. The commission convenes every 10 years and proposes charter amendments that are put to the vote in the next general election and can change the way the county operates.
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Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, through his company Pulama Lana’i, is proposing to develop 150 rental homes for Lanai with 49 percent slated for market rates and the other 51 percent scheduled for affordable rents under a state fast-track process for affordable housing.
Although the Hokuao project is still in the planning stages, some Maui County Council members are already questioning the number of affordable units in the project, with one saying it should be 100 percent affordable.
The Hokuao project would build 76 affordable and 74 market-rate rental homes on about 76 acres of former pineapple fields neighboring Lanai City.
The plan includes a one-acre public park, a 1,500-square-foot public community center and 60 parking stalls for Hokuao residents, according to its draft environmental assessment published last week in the state Office of Environmental Quality Control’s “The Environmental Notice.”