The Maui News

The Maui County Council approved the 49-unit Makila Kai project in Launiupoko on a 6-2 vote Friday.

The measure to clear the way for the fast-track affordable housing project drew “no” votes from Council Members Elle Cochran and Alika Atay. Council Member Don Guzman was absent and excused.

The nearly 80-acre project calls for developing 25 residential workforce housing units on half-acre lots and 24 market-rate agricultural lots on 1.5 to nearly 2 acres. The site is mauka of Honoapiilani Highway and the Lahaina bypass corridor.

The project is seeking approval via the state’s 201H fast-track housing provisions that exempt affordable housing developments from certain land use and other governmental regulations.

Greg Brown of Makila Kai LLC is the project developer. He already has built 80 homes in the Launiupoko area.

Proponents say more affordable homes are needed in the area, while critics are worried about more traffic in West Maui as well as other inadequate infrastructure, including concerns over water supply.

The council’s Land Use Committee recommended approval of the project.