The need for affordable housing and a Native Hawaiian family’s claims of land ownership are coming to a head as a Maui County Council committee has until next month to decide whether to approve a 100 percent affordable rental project in Waiehu.

The Ke Kahua Residential Workforce Rental Housing project is proposing 120 affordable rental units that would be developed by Waiehu Housing LP and managed by the nonprofit Hale Mahaolu on an 11.5-acre site owned by Maui Economic Opportunity. MEO has maintained that the ownership issue has been decided in court and that the lands awarded to the Pehuino family — who says the property was granted to their ancestors — were not in the MEO property.

But descendants such as 71-year-old Harry Brown maintain otherwise.

“You kicking us out, our family, to put in something that other people are going to come in. It has too many problems as it is, as you heard, but that’s our place, that’s my bloodline,” Brown told the Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee on Tuesday.

Brown, a lineal descendant of the area, said that it’s a “good project,” but “it’s in the wrong place.”

“That’s my family’s place. I don’t care how much you going talk about all the lawyers coming in saying this and that. No, it’s ours,” Brown said of the site that’s located at the intersection of Kahekili Highway and Waiehu Beach Road.

But others in the community say there is a dire need for housing.

“I think they’ve done their homework. I’m sorry that it inconveniences people, I’m sorry there were problems with title and people got hurt. I’m sorry about all of that. But I’m going to tell you we have to get housing, it’s not getting better,” Pacific Cancer Foundation Executive Director Linda Puppolo told the committee on Tuesday.

She said the need for affordable housing also extends to those who have cancer, as some may lose their jobs because of the illness, which leads to other trickle-down issues such as not having enough food.

“We can go to MEO. MEO is wonderful and they are a good partner and they have helped us trying to find housing for people. But there are no houses, there’s nothing,” Puppolo said. “Somewhere you have to make a decision and you have to build some housing and you have to do it now.”

The full council has a 60-day deadline or until April 22 to act on the fast track affordable project, otherwise it will be approved. The project is seeking 12 exemptions from the County Code.

After meetings on Tuesday and Thursday, which included hours of testimony and hours of questions for project officials and county departments, Committee Chairwoman Tasha Kama recessed the meeting until this coming Wednesday to go over the project exemptions.

The Ke Kahua project will consist of 13 two-story buildings containing 120 multifamily residential units, of one, two and three bedrooms. It will be composed of 100 percent affordable rentals and restricted to applicants earning 60 percent or less of the area median income. The project will also include a 3,477-square-foot nonprofit building, a 3,231-square-foot clubhouse for project residents, two play areas with playground equipment, two on-site laundry facilities, a maintenance room and 274 parking stalls and two loading stalls.

Rents could be as low as $569 a month to $1,577 a month, according to 2022 affordable guidelines. The rents also include utilities.

Housing and Human Concerns Deputy Director Saumalu Mata’afa said the project has met the criteria under the county’s residential workforce housing policies.

He told council members the project would also be subject to a new measure, Bill 111, which, among other things, gives priority for the affordable units to those who have lived on the island the longest.

MEO CEO Debbie Cabebe said in January that “the only reason we are pursuing a development at Ke Kahua in Waiehu is to bring affordable rental units to struggling Maui families,” and that when the nonprofit saw the chance to offer rents as low as $550 a month, “we jumped at it.”

“MEO has no financial gain in the development of this rental housing project,” Cabebe said. “In fact, the costs of the legal challenges have been unexpected and burdensome, which is especially challenging for a non-profit organization.”

Besides issues with land title, the project faces opposition from nearby residents concerned about issues including traffic and drainage.

Bryan Sarasin, who has lived in the area since 1978, is worried about the traffic and flooding issues and also would like to see the area used for agriculture.

“One car increase is too much, period,” he told committee members, noting he takes his grandson to school every day and deals with traffic.

“When I moved to that area it was sugar cane,” Sarasin said.

He added that the area is prime agricultural land, and “agricultural land is only agricultural land once.”

Sarasin and other testifiers also noted the flooding that has occurred on the property, especially with the recent rains. Sarasin said the state hardly ever comes out to clean out a nearby culvert.

Like many other testifiers, Sarasin said he was not against affordable housing, but said “this is not the right place” and noted his respect for the rights and cultural practices of the Hawaiian people.

Mercer “Chubby” Vicens, an emeritus board member of MEO, urged council members on Tuesday to have “courage” in making their decision and remember who they represent.

“I think handling it (land ownership matters) through the legal process was the right thing to do. You as members of this community, that’s what you are, you represent the community, you represent me, you represent my ohana,” Vicens said. “For you to sit back and say, we are going to make this decision and that decision based on what we hear today, is not correct. You have to make that decision of what knowledge you have, what people went through to get this permit process moving, weigh yourself on that, nothing else. Sometimes it takes courage to do that.”

“Your job is to make sure you do the best job you can for this community,” he added.

The concerns over the project site prompted Council Member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez to propose that the county exchange MEO about 11.5 acres of land in Puunene for the 11.5-acre Waiehu housing site. The proposal has been referred to the housing committee.

But in a statement Friday, Cabebe said “While we appreciate this gesture, there are too many unknowns at this point regarding a land swap and we are concerned that no affordable rental units will end up being built. In addition, the land swap would delay the development of affordable rentals by five to 10 years. From our perspective, the community needs affordable rentals now. We have been working on this project since late 2020 and much time and funds have expended.”

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.