An affordable housing development scheduled to break ground this year in Waiehu, Maui, will probably be delayed and could be in jeopardy of a more serious setback as the presumed land owner deals with a challenge from a family that also claims title to the site.
What You Need To Know
Maui Economic Opportunity is working with developer Highridge Costa Companies to build Hale Mahaolu Ke Kahua, a 100% affordable housing community in Waiehu
Lineal descendants of a man named Pehuino, who was awarded the land by the Land Commission during the Great Mahele in 1848, contacted MEO to assert their claim to the property
In July, MEO took two Pehuino descendants, Laura and Kahala Johnson, to court on a civil trespassing complaint
MEO took the ruling against one of the descendants as sufficient proof of its standing and, on Oct. 17, accompanied by Maui Police Department personnel, issued trespass notices to Pehuino descendants at the property with a request to vacate the area within a week
Maui Economic Opportunity, a nonprofit organization that administers a variety of programs to address poverty and related issues on Maui, is working with developer Highridge Costa Companies to build Hale Mahaolu Ke Kahua, a 100% affordable housing community that includes 120 one-, two- and three-bedroom rental units available to households earning 40% to 60% of the area median income.
