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Council backs housing IGA and approves purchase/grant of affordable units and kupuna lease
Summary
Council passed an ordinance first reading to allow an intergovernmental agreement for interim housing (Bill 88 FD1, retroactive to July 1) and approved resolutions to buy a workforce housing unit for transfer to Nehalio O’Maui and to grant a kupuna lease; the measures were described as linchpins for larger redevelopment and interim housing plans.
The Maui County Council on July 25 approved several housing measures: a first-reading passage (with an FD1 substitution) of Bill 88 authorizing an intergovernmental agreement related to temporary housing; and resolutions authorizing the county to acquire a workforce housing unit in Wailuku (Reso 25-145), grant that parcel to the community land trust Nehalio O’Maui (Reso 25-146), and authorize a lease to house kupuna under the Nahale Kupuna program (Reso 25-147).
Director of Housing Richard Mitchell told the council Bill 88 (the intergovernmental agreement) addresses the role of the State Department of Human Services and the Hawaii Interim Housing Program in using a facility at the heart of county redevelopment plans. “The MOA establishes that the building can be used by DHS. They are responsible for the costs during the period that they use the facility, which is through next year, August 2025, and responsible for transitioning out the interim users, and thereby allowing the county to proceed with its development,” Mitchell said. The FD1 version was substituted on the floor with an effective date requested retroactive to July 1, 2025.
On the workforce housing purchase, Deputy Housing Director Salmalu Mataafa and Director Mitchell described administrative steps and funding. Vice Chair Yuki Lehi Sugimura summarized that the county will acquire a 0.0873-acre workforce housing unit in Wailuku and grant it to the Nehalio community land trust to preserve affordability “in perpetuity.” The resolution language authorized acquisition “for up to $497,500 exclusive of closing costs,” though Mitchell referenced a computed repurchase price of $495,500 in his presentation; the council adopted the acquisition and the grant and included a title report and appraisal into the record as exhibits.
Julie Jenkins and Cesar Gaxiola, representing Nahale Kupuna and the J. Walter Cameron Center respectively, described operations and said the kupuna housing program has units ready and a waiting list of roughly 60 people; Jenkins said the program expects the final unit to allow the last tenant to move in by Aug. 1, 2025 if the resolutions passed.
The council voted to approve the resolutions and the bill substitution; votes were taken on the floor with a majority recorded for passage. The measures are part of a broader set of documents needed to proceed with redevelopment, including ground-lease amendments, memoranda of agreement, restrictive covenants and service agreements with property managers and the state. Administration staff said they would be available as resource persons as the council moves the items through final actions and implementation steps.
