Housing, drainage issues raised over A&B request
While there seems to be little doubt that the expansion of A&B Properties' Maui Business Park would provide much-needed space for light industrial uses, questions remain about the amount of affordable housing offered to support the workers and if proposed drainage plans will keep pollutants out of the ocean. A&B's request to the state Land Use Commission for incremental redistricting of 33 acres on the Wailuku side of Hana Highway from agricultural to urban will be continued at a later meeting.

Developer outlines 'green' subdivision planned for Kihei
Speaking for Maui Tomorrow, Ron Sturtz has been before the Maui Planning Commission "countless times," usually voicing more or less criticism of other people's developments. Tuesday, he stood up to speak for himself as a developer of a 65-lot residential project in Kihei. The commission voted unanimously to grant a special management area permit. Commission member Bernice Lu, who in nearly five years on the panel has heard testimony from Sturtz many times, said, "We expected no less than a very, very green and smart project from you. You have risen to the challenge."

Affordable homes planned on Maui
Maui developer Sterling Kim said he hopes to offer homes in a new Waiehu subdivision for less than $200,000.
That would be welcome news to residents who have been squeezed out of Maui's heated home-buying market, where the median home price has topped $600,000.

Creating a Culture of Bamboo
Bamboo, the fastest growing annually renewable crop, has been feeding, sheltering and supplying a wealth of applications - from musical instruments to scaffolding - for thousands of years. Bamboo can also be used to prevent erosion, remediate fumigated soil and help restore Hawai'i's watersheds.

Development In And Around Lahaina Town
Plans have been drawn for two large development projects in the Lahaina Town district. Here are two websites created by the developer that provide maps and descriptions of those two projects – www.wainee.com and www.kaanapali2020.com

No affordable housing in this South Maui project
Maui developer planning 200 new homes in Kihei
Kihei-based Betsill Bros. Construction expects to break ground in three months for the first homes, a combination of townhouses and single-family residences priced around $800,000 to $1.3 million.

Affordable home acres required for expansion of industrial park
A&B Properties passed its first hurdle to convert 138 acres of agricultural land near Kahului Airport for an expansion of its Maui Business Park and the adjoining Maui Market Place commercial center - but only if the developer provides at least 10 acres in Central Maui for affordable housing. The condition was attached by the state Land Use Commission as it approved reclassifying to urban use two pieces of property that lie on either side of Hana Highway: 106 acres adjoining the developments that include the Wal-Mart/Home Depot complex, Maui Marketplace and Maui Business Park, plus 32 acres alongside the Big Kmart and Costco retailing centers.

Hawaiian group back in court over lapsed mortgage promise
A group of Native Hawaiians has gone to federal court in an attempt to force Bank of America to fulfill a 10-year-old pledge to provide $150 million in mortgage loans promised to Native Hawaiians after a lending dispute. The lawsuit, filed yesterday in U.S. District Court, names Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan and board members. It seeks a court order that the board halt the bank's proposed merger with FleetBoston Financial Corp. until the pledge has been fulfilled.

Councilors put more beef into affordable housing requirements
Aiming to put some muscle into affordable housing requirements that have long been sidestepped by developers, a Maui County Council committee approved new provisions that would force builders seeking a zoning change to complete affordable units in five years or forfeit a secured bond. If the full council adopts a resolution attached to the revisions, the proposed bill will go to all three planning commissions for public comment before returning to councilors for the final stamp.

Affordable housing plans aired
Housing and Human Concerns Director Alice Lee told the Maui Nui Housing Task Force that although no affordable housing will be built until 2006 at the earliest, a bundle of proposed projects that should eventually more than meet the demand for those who make it until then. "In three to five years, we're going to have more units than you can imagine," she said, providing a list of 2,193 affordable units either on the drawing boards or awaiting approval.

County measures 'capacity' for growth in Lahaina, Kihei
Maui's overall population of residents is expected to grow - from 117,644 in the year 2000 to an estimated 160,090 in 2020 - and all those people will have to live somewhere. "Concurrency seems to be the key word here," said Long-Range Planning Director Brian Miskae. "Don't develop more than the infrastructure can handle."

Off-the-grid lots could provide answer for affordable housing
The practice of a landowner creating lots and selling them outright has matured into a concept whereby the landowner either sells the land outright to a developer or remains in partnership with a developer to subdivide the land. Once the land is subdivided, the developer then controls the entire build-out and ends up selling finished homes. The net result is a selling price out of reach of ordinary hardworking families.

Construction boom hits Maui; 600 homes going up
A boom in home construction is headed for Central Maui as three developers gear up to start selling and building more than 600 homes at the largely undeveloped master-planned community Kehalani. The construction worth more than $100 million is expected to greatly alleviate one of the tightest housing markets in the state and ease pressure on rising home prices as well as jump-start a troubled project when initial sales start in mid-November.