Gov. Green to announce plan to house Lahaina survivors

Mar. 27—Green has threatened a first-in-Hawaii ban on short-term vacation rentals if not enough West Maui owners rent to fire survivors by Monday.

Gov. Josh Green today plans to outline how he intends to house displaced Maui wildfire survivors days ahead of a rally and march by a Lahaina group to urge Green to use his emergency powers to force owners of West Maui short-term vacation rentals to house evacuees.

Green earlier this month threatened a first-in-Hawaii ban on short-term vacation rentals if not enough West Maui owners rent to fire survivors by Monday.

Green has said most fire survivors want to live in West Maui close to their jobs and schools.

In addition to survivors already receiving aid, Green also wants owners of short-term vacation rentals to house evacuees who do not qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency housing assistance because they are undocumented or are Compact of Free Association migrants from the Federated States of Micronesia.

As an incentive, owners will have their county property taxes waived and assured of steady, government-­­backed rent. If not, Green has threatened owners with higher taxes if they refuse.

Earlier this month Green said he needed 175 more short-term vacation rental units to convert by Monday.

Maui County officials did not respond to a request for comment and data on converted units Tuesday, the state Prince Kuhio holiday.

But Maui County's Real Property Assessment Division earlier this month told the Honolulu Star-­Advertiser that there had been 1, 065 properties being rented for a year or more to survivors, of which 53 % are transient vacation rentals. Another 538 properties were being rented for six to 11 months, of which 93 % are vacation rentals.

Representatives for Lahaina Strong announced Tuesday in a news release a rally and march at 4 p.m. Saturday at Kaanapali Beach to urge Green and Maui Mayor Richard Bissen to force the transition of vacation rentals in order to provide "dignified housing " for fire survivors still living in hotels who remain on what's known as "the Minatoya list."

"Lahaina Strong Fishing for Dignified Housing Hui " calls itself a grass roots coalition of 40 organizations "united for a resilient and strong Lahaina."

"We are calling for continued advocacy for dignified housing in West Maui, with a specific focus on urging Mayor Bissen and Governor Green to utilize their powers to address the housing crisis in our community, " the group said in a statement announcing the rally and march. "Our primary demand is for the conversion of units on the Minatoya list and the reclamation of housing inventory."

Before the deadly Aug. 8 wildfires, Maui had an estimated 31, 000 legal and illegal short-term vacation rentals on an island that lacked enough affordable housing. The fires also revealed that many evacuees had been living in homes filled with multiple families under the same roof.

Green has said the entire state needs 50, 000 more affordable homes to keep more residents from leaving for states with less expensive housing costs.

And he sees converting short-term rentals into longer-term housing for residents as the easiest and quickest way to get more affordable units for residents, compared with building new projects, which are also being considered.

Over the past three years, the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism estimates, the difference between incoming U.S. residents and outbound Hawaii residents leaving for the mainland has resulted in an overall loss of 36, 789 people, costing the state $185 million overall in lost income and general excise tax revenue.

While announcing plans to help retain teachers, health care workers and other critical employees, Green regularly points to Hawaii's high housing costs and the reluctance of vacation owners to rent to residents—in one case using a profanity to express his frustration at a Capitol news conference.

Lahaina had a population estimated at about 13, 000 before the fires. In the aftermath, 9, 806 residents were displaced and 3, 971 properties were destroyed, most of them homes.

Some 7, 796 fire survivors had originally moved into hotels.