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Affordable housing on Maui

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  • Affordable housing on Maui

    Something very interesting is going on in Maui County these days. One of the reasons why the last big development project in Makena was killed is because the County believed that the percentage of "affordable" housing proposed for the development was insufficient for the needs of the workers who would need to work in the area.

    Now, Mayor Alan Arakawa and County Housing Director Danny Mateo say that even when you require a percentage of "affordable" housing units in upcoming developments, the percentages are too small. Of the list of already approved housing developments, there would be only about 9,400 affordable units vs. 21,400 total new homes on Maui, which the infrastructure would somehow have to accommodate.

    Finally, the County Administration is saying because there are so many developments on the drawing board now, maybe we should pick and choose which developments to allow to go ahead via the fast track permitting process, and concentrate on developments that offer 100% affordable housing instead of those requiring a mix of affordable, market and high-end housing. Of course, the developers will howl (they claim they can't make money building affordable housing), but this would allow more working people to finally be able to own their own living spaces. In the 1950's and 1960's, when the plantations were in the process of shutting down on Maui, they developed and built "Dream City" in Kahului, which was 100% affordable housing. Maui needs more "Dream Cities" than it does more luxury developments like Kapalua and Wailea. All the Hawaiian Homes developments will be 100% affordable, but almost everyone in Maui County government is concerned about the impact of other projects on the current infrastructure.

    Miulang
    "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

  • #2
    Re: Affordable housing on Maui

    Your argument is similar to arguments I hear on the Big Island.

    If we punish developers, then we will have more affordable housing. That's nuts!

    The best way to promote affordable "DWELLINGS" is stop thinking that a house is the only option. Densities, via zoning, must be increased in order to promote affordablilty and spread out land and construction costs using economies of scale in construction.

    A small studio with a bathroom is all most single people need. 300 sq ft is plenty. Stackem, and put the 2 or 3 br units at the top. 4-7 stories tall with parking underneath.

    I've ranted on this subject before so I will stop.
    FutureNewsNetwork.com
    Energy answers are already here.

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    • #3
      Re: Affordable housing on Maui

      Increased density is absolutely required in order to keep housing affordable. It can be done in ways that don't involve ugly apartment monoliths. How can we make it the developers' economic interest to build affordable housing? The shortcut is to pass laws that require percentages, etc. but as noted above it doesn't work too well.

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