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The longest Monopoly board game ever played lasted 70 days.
The source reporting that tidbit, monopolyland.com, also claims the most expensive Monopoly set cost $2 million in 1988, the largest permanent playing board is a granite square with 30-foot sides in San Jose, Calif., and the longest game ever contested in a bathtub was 99 hours.
Maui has those numbers beat by a Boardwalk mile. Investors began rolling the dice on island properties many decades ago. The action has never stopped. Some players put their life savings into little green houses on the island's equivalent of Baltic Avenue. Others arrive with so many gold $500 bills in their pockets they can plunk down hotels on Wailea and Kapalua.
It's up to the State of Hawaii and County of Maui to make sure players abide by the rules and pay their share. Government is also tasked with protecting the interests of the public and environment, making sure nobody spills soda and nachos all over the playing board. Because in this game, there may be plenty of players, but we only get one board. Maui must serve and house countless generations to come.
When new projects are proposed, some are welcomed with open arms and some meet opposition. Either way, government officials must weigh each project's impacts against the community's need for housing, jobs and economic growth. It can be a real juggling act.
The 28-unit Hale Waipuilani Workforce Housing Project in Kihei presents just such a challenge. The developer hopes to provide workforce housing on 1.5 acres about a block inland from the Maui Sunset. Neighbors and community association members who testified against the project this week took exception with its density, traffic impacts and, most importantly, that it is to be built in a flood zone. The Maui County Council has until July 17 to make a decision on the fast-track proposal.
The council will also probably be asked to revisit the 257-acre Maalaea Mauka parcel one of these days. Maui developer Peter Martin and his companies recently stepped in front of the county to purchase the land from the descendants of late Maui developer Jesse Spencer for $6 million.
Spencer fought to put housing on the windswept tract at the base of the West Maui Mountains. His family's Maalaea Plantation housing subdivision was rejected by the county due to the area's history of fast-moving brush fires, erosion and its distance from jobs, schools and public utilities. Unless Martin cuts a deal with the county, or is content to let the land sit idle, we can expect the wrangling to resume.
There is no stopping dreamers from driving around this island building mansions and subdivisions in their minds. They see our open spaces as opportunities to roll the dice. Some ideas are good and some should never pass Go.