Tom Reetz, a Kihei resident and member of the Kihei Community Association, told the South Maui Budget, Finance & Economic Development Committee that affordable workforce housing is “the biggest issue we have in Maui” and urged a 10-year housing gap analysis and infrastructure planning to support an estimated need for 13,949 additional units cited by the Maui Housing Initiative.

Reetz recommended a series of steps: conduct a housing gap analysis; determine necessary water, sewer and roads; fund at least 75% of future housing and related infrastructure; preserve affordability through land trusts; convert many active short-term rentals; and prioritize West Maui housing needs over new luxury homes. He cited University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO) data and the Maui Housing Initiative figures when summarizing demand.

Multiple speakers tied housing concerns to evacuation and road capacity. Testimony from Audrey Lester, representing Kihei Community Association (KCA), described planned phases of the North–South Collector Road and urged actions to expedite work on roundabouts and the Kuliniakōkua bridge, which she said, when out, leaves Ikaʻonaʻulu and surrounding neighborhoods vulnerable. John Laney (KCA) presented a map showing more than 7,000 homes in the South Maui pipeline and said adding those units without additional egress points will “turn [Piʻilani Highway] into a parking lot.”

Several residents, including Pava Kalanikau and Patricia Haskins, asked the committee to fund connector and alternate routes, including a mauka emergency route, and to prioritize sewer conversions (cesspools) and water-quality monitoring. Testimony repeatedly linked road and utility improvements to public safety: speakers recalled storms and the Lahaina wildfire as evidence that single-route communities are at risk.

Speakers also pressed the county to require infrastructure be paired with new development, to ensure affordable units remain affordable after HOA and utility fees, and to consider converting short-term rentals to long-term housing where feasible. KCA and other testifiers asked the committee to form a working group with county and state partners to clarify responsibility and funding for the collector road work.

Ending: Committee members did not take formal action during the public comment period. Testimony organizers and residents asked the council to prioritize planning funds and to coordinate with state agencies so projects move from study to construction in phases that relieve traffic and provide additional evacuation routes for South Maui.