Sustainable farming vital for health of Isles  As organic products continue to gain shelf space in markets and
residents turn their vision toward self-sufficiency for the Islands,
farmers face decisions about managing lands, marketing products and
maintaining a financially viable business in a state where agricultural
parcels are increasingly rare. As we consider creative ways to feed a
growing population, we need to look beyond organics to the value of
locally produced food and sustainable agriculture. Many farmers and
ranchers in Hawai’i are doing great things for the land and the
economy, but are not organic.

Kahului Harbor Master Plan 2030
The Harbors Division is undertaking the Kahului Commercial Harbor 2030
Master Plan concurrent with its Environmental Impact Statement. These
concurrent efforts will enable the master plan task force’s
consideration of any potential environmental impacts while planning
Kahului Commercial Harbor’s 2030 improvements.

Council Over-rides Arakawa Veto -Passes Workforce Housing Ordinance
A new residential work force housing policy became law Tuesday after
the Maui County Council unanimously overrode a veto by Mayor Alan
Arakawa. "This is the win-win situation that we all strive for," said
Housing Chairman Danny Mateo, who got in the last word at a special
meeting held Tuesday in Council Chambers to override the mayor’s veto.
Members voting to override included Mayor-elect Charmaine Tavares, who
will be responsible for implementing the new law when she takes office
Jan. 2. She was joined by Council Chairman Riki Hokama and Council
Members Michelle Anderson, Bob Carroll, Jo Anne Johnson, Dain Kane and
Mateo. Council Members Mike Molina and Joe Pontanilla were excused. 12.06.06

Mayor Arakawa vetos Workforce Housing Bill
As promised, Mayor Alan Arakawa vetoed a residential work force housing
policy Friday that proposed requiring as much as 50 percent affordable
units in future developments. 11.25.06

Council approves Workforce Housing policy
The Maui County Council passed the Residential Workforce Housing Policy
that would set strict new requirements for developers to build
affordable homes. Mayor Alan Arakawa planned to veto the bill, saying
it would do more to hurt the housing market than help. But the
council’s unanimous vote indicated more than enough support to override
an Arakawa veto. Council members said the policy would be an important
first step in providing more housing for local residents and said
warnings about the policy just came from developers protecting their
business interests. 11.04.06

Planning commission OK’s Dowling’s Keaka project
The pros outnumbered the cons 5-2 when the commission voted Tuesday on
a special management area permit and special accessory use permit for
the $220 million project down the coastline from the Maui Prince Hotel. 11.18.06

Project district OK’d for Kapalua Mauka
A deadlock in the Maui Planning Commission broke Tuesday afternoon,
giving Maui Land & Pineapple Co. approval for its plans to build
multimillion-dollar homes and a new private golf course at the Kapalua
Resort. The development, which earlier this year had received project
district zoning approval from the County Council, also was seeking a
special management area use permit for off-site infrastructure
improvements to support Kapalua Mauka. 11.18.06

Voters approve affordable housing fund
Maui voters adopted a mandate for Maui County to set aside 2 percent of
real property tax revenues for an affordable housing fund in Tuesday’s
county special election. Along with an affordable housing policy
approved last week by the council, Council Housing Chairman Danny Mateo
said the county will be moving to establish affordable housing for the
community. 11.08.06

Sessions permit the people’s input on future of Maui’s land
About six months ago, Housing for the Local Person concluded that the
County Council was hearing a lot from real estate developers through
their lobbyists and from other interested parties but not directly from
the common man and woman. HLP felt that it was paramount that the
County Council heard from the common man and woman of Maui because they
would be the primary beneficiaries of this new law. So we decided to
have talk story sessions throughout Maui. 07.12.06