Governor Josh Green gives update on Maui housing plan
Hawaii Governor Josh Green delivered an update of ongoing recovery efforts from the wildfires on Maui Wednesday afternoon from Oahu. Green outlined where recovery efforts currently stand, and the financial assets that are going into those recovery efforts.
Governor Green started the conference by outlining positives that he believes have taken place during the recovery efforts.
“We had thousands of people displaced,” Green said. “We lost 101 loved ones. In those first 13 days, we were able to move 7,796 people into shelter, into hotel rooms. As of today, we are now down to 3,109 individuals that are still in hotel rooms.”
Green went on to discuss houses that have been built, and are being built during the recovery efforts to accommodate the need for housing on the island. He added, “But things do go slowly on most occasions when we try to build big developments.”
Green went into detail about a 850 unit housing project with a mid-summer move in date scheduled, “for most of the units.” He also highlighted a school that was built in nearly 90 days.
Governor Green announced he is not going to pursue a moratorium on short-term rentals on Maui. He emphasized his administration is, “committed to working with partners across all counties to crack down on illegal listings engaging in deceptive acts and practices.”
“We will not need a short term moratorium on Maui,” Green said. “We do need more housing constantly. We have to take in hand the illegal short term rentals. But we won’t have to do the moratorium because we have reached a minimum number of units to successfully house our impacted families. We have enough units across Maui, but we still have some shortage of units in West Maui.”
As recovery and rebuilding efforts continue, Governor Green emphasized the crucial role of cross-stakeholder collaboration and community input as recovery and rebuilding efforts continue.
“We are not just constructing buildings; we are restoring livelihoods and communities,” Green said. “Our continued efforts for the people of Maui will ensure that every resource we have is deployed effectively, and every family receives the help it needs to rebuild.”
Governor Green’s speech lasted just under an hour with him concluding that he will give updates on the recovery status of Maui monthly. Green cautioned all available recovery funds and resources from the federal government could take time, as evidenced by other communities on the mainland that have waited years to receive all available resources.
“We’re trying to get all the resources in place as fast as we can,” Green said. “That’s why we want this first year to be super dynamic. But no one should think that we are walking away from the rest of the state’s challenges. We’re going to keep charging in. Aloha.”