A coalition of state, local and federal officials and nonprofit organizations on Friday announced a $500 million initiative to provide longer-term housing for some 3,000 households displaced by the Maui wildfires by March 1. 

If successful, the program will provide homes for 18 to 24 months for thousands of people who have been forced to live in hotel rooms since the fires destroyed much of Lahaina on Aug. 8.

The effort also could help avert a legally thorny solution that some officials and residents have called for: a moratorium on short-term vacation rentals that would effectively mandate the properties be rented longterm to residents.

“If we reach these milestones, it’s very unlikely we’ll have to impose the moratorium on short-term rentals,” Gov. Josh Green said at a news conference, flanked by Maui Mayor Richard Bissen and leaders of the Hawaii Community Foundation, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Red Cross. 

Under the plan, which is memorialized in a memorandum of understanding between the parties, $250 million will come from FEMA, $150 million from the state of Hawaii, $40 million from Maui County, $50 million from the Hawaii Community Foundation, $5 million from the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement and $5 million from other philanthropy.

The announcement comes as protesters on the beach at the Kaanapali resort area continue to call for a ban on vacation rentals as a housing solution. Kuhio Lewis, CNHA’s president and chief executive, did not rule out the need for a moratorium. And he commended the protesters for the moratorium, which he said encouraged government leaders to help find homes for displaced people.

“This is at the end of the day in response to that kahea,” Lewis said, using the Hawaiian word for “call.” 

To house residents, the coalition plans to use numerous tools:

• A host family program, in which residents are paid to bring in displaced people.

• Long-term hotel units that have been bought or leased by the government.

• Long-term rentals.

• And dwellings built and managed by FEMA and the coalition.

In addition, officials expect that 433 homes in Lahaina will have their electricity, water and sewage systems restored by March 1. 

Still, under the plan, the biggest driver will be property owners voluntarily converting their vacation units to longterm rentals.

As of now, 700 such units had been converted under a program in which property owners can essentially be paid the going rate for vacation rentals if they rent longterm to fire victims. 

The goal is to more than double that number to 1,500 by March 1, officials said. 

How to do that is another question. FEMA coordinating officer TJ Dargan said the agency has hired three property management companies to help find vacation rental owners who might want to rent vacation properties longterm and has sent out flyers and held workshops to get the word out. Many deals involve one-on-one talks with owners of single properties, officials said.

“We’re shaking that tree pretty hard,” Dargan said. 

Finally, there’s the potential for new temporary homes and longer term accessory dwelling units. In fact, Friday’s press conference was held in a vacant field at Maui Lani, on a parcel the county owns near Kahului.

Bissen said the coalition will partner to build 34 units on 17 parcels near the pop-up tent where the officials made their presentation. There’s another parcel nearby with room for another 34 homes, Bissen said.

One thing often overlooked is that approximately 25% of the people originally displaced have been placed into longer term housing. Mary Simkins, assistant director of external affairs for the American Red Cross, said the number has dropped from about 8,000 immediately after the fire to 6,000 today.

The key, Green said, is to find homes for those 6,000 people, or about 3,000 households. 

“By July 1, everybody will be in a stable place,” he said.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by grants from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.