Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Saturday, October 22, 2022
Maui Bill 107 Orders Developers to Reduce Price 20%
By Grassroot Institute @ 10:57 PM :: 1899 Views :: Maui County, Development, Cost of Living

Maui mayor signs housing law, giving impression it will work

The Grassroot Institute testified the new ordinance is likely to do more harm than good by discouraging more homebuilding

from Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, October 21, 2022

A new Maui County law is being promoted as a way to provide more affordable housing, despite considerable testimony that the promise might not quite work out that way.

The law, formerly Bill 107, liberalizes the formula by which Maui residents can qualify to buy affordable housing. Mayor Mike Victorino said upon signing the bill on Tuesday that it will “put homeownership within reach for more Maui County residents.”

The Grassroot Institute, however, testified last month that the proposed changes would force homebuilders to lower their prices by about 20% and disincentivize future affordable home construction. The Institute also said the bill could be a drain on Maui taxpayers, which the mayor’s remarks seemed to confirm.

“We will continue to work with developers to make these home prices possible,” Victorino said. “We have examples of successful public-private partnerships that bring construction costs down through subsidies, infrastructure support, creative financing, various exemptions and bonus packages.”

Of course, the best, simplest, least costly option is to just get Maui’s government out of the way, so homebuilders can add to the county’s housing supply without having to jump through so many complicated, time-consuming and expensive regulatory hoops.

As Institute President Keli‘i Akina said in his most recent “President’s Corner” column, “This isn’t a secret. Housing activists from all parts of the political spectrum have been telling Hawaii policymakers for years that the best way to increase homebuilding and bring down home prices is to reduce government barriers.

“Nevertheless,” Akina said, “calls to increase government involvement in housing persist. A perfect example of this flawed approach is Bill 107, approved Sept. 27 by the Maui County Council,” and now signed into law by the mayor.

Akina said, “No doubt it is a well-intended effort to ‘do something’ about housing in Hawaii, but this is not the ‘something’ that needs to be done.”

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT