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150-unit Lanai housing project moves forward

Developer agrees to changes, including income ranges, reserving units for teachers

By Dakota Grossman 5 min read

An affordable housing rental project that will supply homes to meet current and growing demand on Lanai was given the green light with some changes Wednesday evening.

The Maui County Council's Affordable Housing Committee voted 8-0 Wednesday evening, with Council Member Tasha Kama excused, to recommend approval of the project, following multiple meetings packed with public testimony and hours of discussion over concerns with the project's level of market-rate homes.

"My heart and all of our hearts and everybody who's involved in this is trying to make homes for people who live here, trying to help people of Lanai who haven't had affordable houses in 30 years. I know the list, I was on the list," said Committee Chairman Gabe Johnson, who holds the Lanai residency seat. "This was near and dear to my heart. We want to take care of our community on all levels and that's where I'm coming from."

Council Vice Chairwoman Keani Rawlins-Fernandez also spoke in strong support of the project that she said addresses overcrowded multigenerational homes, high purchase costs and exodus of former residents who could not find housing.

"I thank the Pulama Lana'i representatives that stuck it out with us all the way to late this night and the community for working hard to support it and push Pulama Lana'i to revise the project so that it better suits their needs," Rawlins-Fernandez said. "And my gratitude to Pulama Lana'i for being receptive to the communities' requests and making those modifications."

The Hokuao 201H Housing Project, which was proposed by billionaire Larry Ellison's company Pulama Lana'i, includes the development of 150 two-bedroom rental homes -- 76 affordable and 74 market rate -- on about 76 acres of former pineapple fields neighboring Lanai City. The project will be developed under the state's fast-track approval process for affordable housing.

Council members spent six hours of review and discussion on the project Wednesday.

"I'm happy we went through this process and been able to fast track the process ahead of other housing projects in the county," Council Member Shane Sinenci said. "And we've been able to exempt many of the requirements from (County Code Chapter) 2.96 that would eventually save the developer millions of dollars in favor of putting affordable housing for the Lanai people."

Council Chairwoman Alice Lee said the project is "desperately needed."

Pulama Lana'i committed to making the affordable units available in perpetuity in the below-moderate, moderate and above-moderate income ranges, which includes those earning between 80 and 140 percent of the area median income established by county guidelines.

Workforce units would be rented to qualified households through an application process. Ten of the units must be reserved for teachers in grades pre-K through 12 residing on Lanai, according to a condition initiated by Council Member Yuki Lei Sugimura.

The project also includes a 1-acre park, a 1,500-square-foot community center and 60 parking stalls.

The future subdivision will include sidewalks, which Johnson passionately fought for on Wednesday. Pulama Lana'i had sought an exemption for putting in sidewalks, saying it would cost about $2 million. Sharon Thom, senior vice president of development and construction for Pulama Lana'i, said at the meeting that the sidewalks would change the "look and feel" of Lanai City.

But Johnson said "it doesn't feel right to me that there's no sidewalks in this project," adding that the county needs to advocate for pedestrian safety and ADA accessibility.

"I really think sidewalks and walkable towns are a very important part of our community," he said.

Preliminary plans outline a sidewalk starting from Ninth Street and Fraser Avenue for about 250 feet, which connects to another sidewalk for the balance of the Ninth Street extension. Plans also include a sidewalk for the Twelfth Street extension from Fraser Avenue to the project roadways.

Pulama Lana'i President Kurt Mastumoto almost pulled the project later in the evening over a really "big condition" proposed by Council Member Tamara Paltin, who suggested that Ellison fund the infrastructure for utilities needed for the Lanai City Maui County Affordable Housing Project nearby.

Mastumoto said that he respects the council's work, but it would cause "undue hardships" on the developers and delay plans, and that the request begs the question of legality.

"If it stands, I think we are going to have to withdraw," he added. "We really think that this is not the forum for that particular request to have been made. We think that this condition should not be tied to this particular project."

The Hokuao project will be financed by Lanai Island Holdings, another entity owned by Ellison, who acquired 98 percent of Lanai in 2012.

However, officials for decades have said the high cost of developing infrastructure for water and sewer have stalled the development of the county's parcel.

"All things considered, I just see potential to finish it off, finish off these affordable lands and create this awesome legacy on Lanai for Mr. Ellison," said Paltin. "All we can do is ask and this could provide a pathway to home ownership for those who want it or it could just provide more rental homes, which we hear are sorely needed."

Though the majority of the committee initially supported the motion, council members later voted 6-2 against the condition so as to not lose the proposed project.

Pulama Lana'i also agreed to do its best to provide stub-outs for water and wastewater that would be ready for connection to the complementary Maui County project.

"I see this in a very bigger way of us finally getting our county affordable housing project on Lanai closer to reality," Sugimura said. "I thank Pulama Lana'i for bringing the stub-outs, as they've been saying, closer to the borders to make this a reality. It's needed so badly."

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.

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