This commentary was originally published May 30, 2019, in Honolulu Civil Beat. If Honolulu County ever needed a cap on annual spending growth, that time is now. Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s recently approved budget for fiscal year 2020 called for a $220 million increase in county expenditures over the previous year, and the
For many Maui families, purchasing a home is a pipe dream. However, there may be an opportunity for them to realize that dream, if county residents would be open to reforming local housing regulations. Maui’s complex zoning laws act as a barrier to homebuilding, according to a March 2018 audit
By law, Maui County government spending is limited only by its revenues and appropriations. However, as its revenues have increased, the county’s spending has kept pace, increasing between 2008 and 2016 by 13.5 percentage points more than average Maui wages. Aaron Lief of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii wrote about this
Maui County has a backlog of 1,728 applications from residents seeking to hook up to the county water supply, and the county is processing only about 60 a year. Hiring a private contractor to help is an obvious solution, and there is a way to do it legally.
There is movement at the Maui County Council to require that all of Maui’s so-called affordable housing to remain so in perpetuity.
After years of hemorrhaging millions of Hawaii taxpayer dollars, the three state-run hospitals in Maui County have been turned over to a public-private partnership that now is improving the quality of the medical services at those facilities while reducing their financial burden on the public. Maui Health System, an affiliate
It’s clearly not the end of brick-and-mortar retail, but retail vacancies on Maui are on the rise, and mall owners may need to find new uses for their properties. Given Maui’s housing shortage, could empty retail space be transitioned into housing? Aaron Lief of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii writes
Have you ever wondered why there aren’t any trailer parks on Maui? Or why “tiny home” villages haven’t caught on in the islands yet? With the cost of housing displacing more local families every day, these affordable alternative communities are noticeably absent. So what’s preventing their development? Ironically, there are
Solving the housing shortage may mean building more housing.
Residents wait an average of 17 months for permit approval.
This commentary was originally published May 30, 2019, in Honolulu Civil Beat. If Honolulu County ever needed a cap on annual spending growth, that time is now. Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s recently approved budget for fiscal year 2020 called for a $220 million increase in county expenditures over the previous year, and the
For many Maui families, purchasing a home is a pipe dream. However, there may be an opportunity for them to realize that dream, if county residents would be open to reforming local housing regulations. Maui’s complex zoning laws act as a barrier to homebuilding, according to a March 2018 audit
By law, Maui County government spending is limited only by its revenues and appropriations. However, as its revenues have increased, the county’s spending has kept pace, increasing between 2008 and 2016 by 13.5 percentage points more than average Maui wages. Aaron Lief of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii wrote about this
Maui County has a backlog of 1,728 applications from residents seeking to hook up to the county water supply, and the county is processing only about 60 a year. Hiring a private contractor to help is an obvious solution, and there is a way to do it legally.
There is movement at the Maui County Council to require that all of Maui’s so-called affordable housing to remain so in perpetuity.
After years of hemorrhaging millions of Hawaii taxpayer dollars, the three state-run hospitals in Maui County have been turned over to a public-private partnership that now is improving the quality of the medical services at those facilities while reducing their financial burden on the public. Maui Health System, an affiliate
It’s clearly not the end of brick-and-mortar retail, but retail vacancies on Maui are on the rise, and mall owners may need to find new uses for their properties. Given Maui’s housing shortage, could empty retail space be transitioned into housing? Aaron Lief of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii writes
Have you ever wondered why there aren’t any trailer parks on Maui? Or why “tiny home” villages haven’t caught on in the islands yet? With the cost of housing displacing more local families every day, these affordable alternative communities are noticeably absent. So what’s preventing their development? Ironically, there are
Solving the housing shortage may mean building more housing.
Residents wait an average of 17 months for permit approval.
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