Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said he wants to convert 3,000 vacation homes into long-term housing for displaced wildfire survivors who are currently living in hotels, four months after the horrific fire hit Maui.
Green said he was prepared to use the “hammer” of post-fire emergency orders to ensure owners of short-term vacation rentals extend them to long-term housing if enough rooms are not voluntarily converted by mid-January.
On Thursday, the governor said that more than four months after the August 8 wildfire wiped out historic Lahaina and killed at least 97 people, 6,297 residents were still living in hotels – the deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history.
Due to Maui's extreme housing shortage, the vast majority of residents have nowhere else to go. According to Green, there are currently between 12,000 and 14,000 units on Maui that are legally available for short-term rentals. Including illegal specimens, he estimated there could be nearly 25,000.
The lack of stable housing has been a source of stress for Lahaina residents, some of whom have had to change hotel rooms several times since the fire. A group is camping on Kaanapali Beach outside resort hotels, vowing to stay there until short-term rentals are converted for residents' use.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (pictured) said Friday he wants to convert 3,000 vacation homes into long-term housing for displaced wildfire survivors
On August 8, a wildfire wiped out historic Lahaina and killed at least 97 people – the deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history
About 86 percent of the approximately 2,200 buildings destroyed were residential and the value of the destroyed property is estimated at more than $5 billion
The fire that swept through centuries-old Lahaina destroyed nearly every building in the city of 13,000.
About 86 percent of the approximately 2,200 buildings destroyed were residential and the value of the destroyed property is estimated at more than $5 billion.
Green said a combination of county tax incentives and generous rental subsidies from the Federal Emergency Management Agency should help.
FEMA sent letters Monday to 13,000 short-term rental providers across Maui informing them that the agency would offer to pay them the same rent they earned on their units the previous year, Green said.
Additionally, the Maui County Council is currently considering mayor-sponsored property tax relief legislation.
“So there is absolutely no reason for people not to take advantage of this opportunity, provided they want to be a helpful part of the solution,” Green said.
Green said his goal with these measures is to provide transitional housing for two years while more housing is built on Maui.
“So we really only need about 10 percent, maybe 12 percent of all available short-term units on Maui,” he said.
On Thursday, the governor said 6,297 residents were still living in hotels more than four months after their homes were destroyed by fire
A destroyed junkyard in Lahaina. According to Green, there are currently between 12,000 and 14,000 units on Maui that are legally available for short-term rentals
People stand in front of a burned-down affordable housing complex in Lahaina. The Maui County Council is also considering implementing property tax breaks for owners who convert
Ideally, officials could rent out an entire building or timeshare property, he said.
FEMA will pay for rental units for about 2,000 families. The state of Hawaii and private philanthropists will cover rent for the remaining 1,000 families who are undocumented or citizens of so-called Compact of Free Association states and ineligible for FEMA aid, Green said.
He had no estimate of how much this would cost, saying it would depend on how many rental properties were available.
The governor plans to release details of his new budget proposals at a press conference on Monday.
On December 11, the Heart of Lahaina reopened to residents and businesses with day passes. However, authorities recommend that people entering burned properties wear protective gear to protect themselves from danger.