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Housing, Land Use & Zoning

Testimony: Liberalize West Maui Plan to encourage housing

The following testimony was submitted Sept. 8, 2020, to the Maui Planning Commission by Joe Kent, executive vice president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. ____________ To: Maui Planning Commission / Lawrence Carnicelli, Chair / Christian Tackett, Vice chair From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii / Joe Kent / Executive vice president RE: West

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Five little words could solve Hawaii housing crisis

The lack of affordable housing in Hawaii is on everyone’s mind. State legislators have responded with a wide variety of proposals that include everything from government building projects to incentives for developers. Then there’s the constitutional amendment. Three Senate bills proposing an amendment to the state Constitution that would require

Read More →

Hawaii’s housing crisis, in 63 seconds

Here is the latest in a series of short videos being produced by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii to explain quickly and simply the basics of some of Hawai’s most pressing economic problems. This 63-second video is about the state’s housing crisis. 

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50 ways — at least — to update Maui’s zoning code

This article was published originally on Dec. 24, 2019, in The Maui News. ___________ A major rewrite of Maui County’s zoning code could yield more housing — if done right. “Done right” means simplifying the code and removing red tape, which were major recommendations in a 2018 audit performed by

Read More →

Tear down Hawaii’s contractor licensing walls

Photo by Charley Myers It would lead to more Hawaii residents working in the construction trades and help make homes more plentiful and affordable By Mauloa Akina and Alex Duggan* Many reasons have been cited for Hawaii’s sky-scraping price tags for housing, but there is one reason that is rarely

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Liberate Hawaii homebuilding!

Photo by Charley Myers Lack of affordable housing is a problem that affects us all. As the “Why we left Hawaii” series of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii has demonstrated, being able to afford a home is one of the main reasons many of our family, friends and neighbors have been leaving Hawaii

Read More →

Why we have a housing crisis in Hawaii

It’s as true for housing as it is for designer jeans: When supply can’t keep up with demand, prices go up and people get angry. The big difference, of course, is that a shortage of denim doesn’t generally create a crisis. A shortage of housing does. No one contests the

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What Honolulu can learn from Houston about housing

Sometimes less is more. In Houston, the largest city in Texas by population, less zoning has resulted in more housing, helping it enjoy a significantly higher standard of living than Honolulu, as measured by the purchasing power of real wages. Find out more about Houston’s example by watching this interview with Tory

Read More →

Land-use lessons from Houston

Hawaii isn’t the only place experiencing a lack of housing. That’s an affliction we share with many metropolitan areas across the nation, such as San Francisco and New York City. Hawaii politicians have explored a variety of possible solutions to the problem, such as leasehold apartments built by the state (“ALOHA homes”) and

Read More →

People are the solution, not the problem

After the great success of the “Avengers” movies, the internet was full of people explaining that Thanos, the villain of the series, had a point. For those of you who have managed to escape the omnipresence of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thanos was a powerful alien being obsessed with the

Read More →

Testimony: Liberalize West Maui Plan to encourage housing

The following testimony was submitted Sept. 8, 2020, to the Maui Planning Commission by Joe Kent, executive vice president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. ____________ To: Maui Planning Commission / Lawrence Carnicelli, Chair / Christian Tackett, Vice chair From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii / Joe Kent / Executive vice president RE: West

Read More →

Five little words could solve Hawaii housing crisis

The lack of affordable housing in Hawaii is on everyone’s mind. State legislators have responded with a wide variety of proposals that include everything from government building projects to incentives for developers. Then there’s the constitutional amendment. Three Senate bills proposing an amendment to the state Constitution that would require

Read More →

Hawaii’s housing crisis, in 63 seconds

Here is the latest in a series of short videos being produced by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii to explain quickly and simply the basics of some of Hawai’s most pressing economic problems. This 63-second video is about the state’s housing crisis. 

Read More →

50 ways — at least — to update Maui’s zoning code

This article was published originally on Dec. 24, 2019, in The Maui News. ___________ A major rewrite of Maui County’s zoning code could yield more housing — if done right. “Done right” means simplifying the code and removing red tape, which were major recommendations in a 2018 audit performed by

Read More →

Tear down Hawaii’s contractor licensing walls

Photo by Charley Myers It would lead to more Hawaii residents working in the construction trades and help make homes more plentiful and affordable By Mauloa Akina and Alex Duggan* Many reasons have been cited for Hawaii’s sky-scraping price tags for housing, but there is one reason that is rarely

Read More →

Liberate Hawaii homebuilding!

Photo by Charley Myers Lack of affordable housing is a problem that affects us all. As the “Why we left Hawaii” series of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii has demonstrated, being able to afford a home is one of the main reasons many of our family, friends and neighbors have been leaving Hawaii

Read More →

Why we have a housing crisis in Hawaii

It’s as true for housing as it is for designer jeans: When supply can’t keep up with demand, prices go up and people get angry. The big difference, of course, is that a shortage of denim doesn’t generally create a crisis. A shortage of housing does. No one contests the

Read More →

What Honolulu can learn from Houston about housing

Sometimes less is more. In Houston, the largest city in Texas by population, less zoning has resulted in more housing, helping it enjoy a significantly higher standard of living than Honolulu, as measured by the purchasing power of real wages. Find out more about Houston’s example by watching this interview with Tory

Read More →

Land-use lessons from Houston

Hawaii isn’t the only place experiencing a lack of housing. That’s an affliction we share with many metropolitan areas across the nation, such as San Francisco and New York City. Hawaii politicians have explored a variety of possible solutions to the problem, such as leasehold apartments built by the state (“ALOHA homes”) and

Read More →

People are the solution, not the problem

After the great success of the “Avengers” movies, the internet was full of people explaining that Thanos, the villain of the series, had a point. For those of you who have managed to escape the omnipresence of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thanos was a powerful alien being obsessed with the

Read More →