Hawaii’s governor conceded it would be tough to stop outsiders from buying up land on Maui, despite his concerns that thousands could be permanently displaced following last week’s devastating fires.
(Bloomberg) — Hawaii’s governor conceded it would be tough to stop outsiders from buying up land on Maui, despite his concerns that thousands could be permanently displaced following last week’s devastating fires.
Governor Josh Green, a Democrat, and Attorney General Anne Lopez are exploring a moratorium on people outside the state trying to buy Lahaina properties. But Green said that will be difficult.
“The governor is not allowed to simply say a resident of Hawaii can buy this house, a resident from California can’t buy this house,” Green said Thursday in an online discussion hosted by news source Honolulu Civil Beat. “This is a very tricky legal question, and as much as we’d like to snap our fingers and just do it for local people, it’s hard.”
Officials in the state have come under scrutiny over whether enough was done to safeguard Lahaina residents from the deadly blaze, and now rebuilding efforts are being closely watched. On Thursday, Maui Emergency Management Agency Administrator Herman Andaya, resigned, citing health reasons. Andaya this week defended not using the state’s public warning sirens to alert Lahaina residents to the fire.
Green said rebuilding Lahaina after last week’s fire — which killed at least 111 people and displaced thousands — will require breaking through stalemates over new construction and water use that created a housing crisis on Maui long before the blaze.
“We can’t just stop building again,” Green told Civil Beat senior reporter Stewart Yerton. “Maui’s going to have to build back in some way.”
Read More: Hawaii Governor Doesn’t Want Developers Buying Burned Lahaina
Green plans to address residents Friday evening, outlining a path forward from the state’s deadliest known natural disaster. He said Thursday the state owns a 400 acre site outside Lahaina that could be used to build housing for the displaced relatively quickly and cheaply, while the county owns another lot nearby. Modular or prefab houses could be another way to lower construction costs, he said.
Some 950 survivors from the Aug. 8 fire have been placed in hotel rooms vacated by tourists, while another 500 people have moved into Airbnb rentals. But neither is a long-term solution. And rebuilding in the decimated town can’t start until federal workers clear the land of toxins such as asbestos and heavy metals, a process that could take several months and $500 million to $750 million, Green said.
Green said he was wrong to have opposed some housing projects during his years as a state legislator and said moving forward after the fire will require the state to have an honest discussion of its future needs, including new construction. About 14,000 Hawaii residents move away each year, he said, driven out by housing costs.
“Rich people will always be able to find a way to buy a one-off house or a condo,” he said. “People like us won’t.”
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