mtanji@mauinews.com
Affordable housing project Kalama Kai in Kihei is pictured during a blessing ceremony in 2019. Critics had worried that a bill proposed by the Maui County Council to increase affordable housing requirements for fast-track projects would make it more difficult for developers to build homes. On Friday, the bill died after the Maui County Council was unable to get enough votes to override the mayorâs veto. â The Maui News / COLLEEN UECHI photo
A much-debated bill to require fast-track housing projects to offer more affordable housing died on Friday as the Maui County Council failed to garner enough votes to override Mayor Michael Victorino’s veto.
kcerizo@mauinews.com
A hotly debated bill to increase affordable housing requirements was approved by Maui County Council on Tuesday evening.
The 6-3 vote, with Council Members Alice Lee, Tasha Kama and Yuki Lei Sugimura dissenting, gave the green light to Bill 10, which would require that 201H fast-tracked housing projects have at least 75 percent affordable units unless a lower percentage greater than 50 percent is approved by council.
Hawaii’s 201H law, administered by the county, is an expedited path that allows exemptions from certain rules and fees for housing developments with a minimum of 50 percent affordable units.
After requests by Kama and Sugimura before the vote Tuesday, Council Member Gabe Johnson, chairman of the council’s Affordable Housing Committee, agreed to have the committee review the bill’s efficacy after 12 months.
mtanji@mauinews.com
The Kaiwahine Village affordable rental project in Kihei is pictured in June. The Maui County Council on Friday passed a bill on first reading that would require 201H fast-track projects to be 75 percent affordable, unless the council approves a lower percentage above 50 percent.
Photo courtesy of Moss Construction
A bill that would tighten affordable housing requirements for projects seeking fast-track approval under state law squeaked by with enough votes early Friday evening to pass on first reading before the Maui County Council.
In the 5-4 decision, Council Member Mike Molina, the bill’s author, voted in favor along with Vice-Chairwoman Keani Rawlins-Fernandez and Council Members Gabe Johnson, Tamara Paltin and Shane Sinenci. Those voting in opposition were Chairwoman Alice Lee and Council Members Kelly King, Tasha Kama and Yuki Lei Sugimura, who said they wanted to await the outcome of a comprehensive affordable housing plan that’s expected to be d
Jeff Gilbreath â In charge of contracted plan
Following the advice to wait until an upcoming affordable housing plan is considered, the Maui County Council Affordable Housing Committee put the brakes on a proposal that would have amended the county’s affordable housing rules.
Committee Chairman Gabe Johnson on Wednesday deferred a bill with four proposed amendments to the county’s affordable housing rules, including changing the definition of residential workforce housing to 120 percent of area median income or less, limiting townhomes and multifamily dwellings to 100 percent area median income, authorizing the mayor and the council to promote affordable housing projects and waitlists and increasing the waitlist offer period from 90 to 180 days.
MIKE MOLINA â Supports the change
The Maui County Council’s Affordable Housing Committee on Monday voted to recommend approval of a bill that would tighten affordable housing requirements for projects seeking fast-track approval under a state law.
The proposal would require that 201H housing projects would need to have 75 percent affordable units unless a lower percentage, which is greater than 50 percent, is approved by council.
Hawaii’s 201H law, administered by the county, is an expedited path that allows exemptions from certain rules and fees for housing developments with a minimum of 50 percent affordable units.
Although some council members and testifiers cautioned that results from a county-funded affordable housing study should be considered before taking action, the committee Monday evening voted 5-3, with one excused, to move forward with the bill.