Hawaii is investigating cases of survivors of Maui fires receiving unsolicited offers to buy their scorched land, Gov. Josh Green said Thursday.
“We’ve seen that in a lot of different places in our country and in our world where people have lost everything but their land and someone swoops in and buys properties for pennies on the dollar,” Gov. Green, a Democrat, said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We want to keep this land in the hands of local people, and we want to give them at least a chance to decide whether they’d like to build back.”
In an emergency order signed on Aug. 19, Gov. Green declared that it is a crime for anyone to “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly make an unsolicited offer” to homeowners located in any of the three fire-impacted ZIP codes on the island of Maui to purchase or otherwise acquire any interest in that real property.
Those who are charged with this crime may be able to raise a defense if they can prove that the property owner to whom the offer was made was not impacted by the wildfire emergency, according to the Hawaii Department of the Attorney General.
Those found guilty of the crime will face a punishment of up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
“Preying on people who suffered the most from the tragedy on Maui is despicable,” Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez said in a statement last week, vowing to investigate all such criminal activity and hold perpetrators accountable.
In the meantime, the attorney general’s office advises that residents who have been approached by someone with an unsolicited deal or offer to purchase their land should not provide the caller with any personal information, and should instead hang up the phone and call the police.
Prior to the Aug. 19 order, the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs urged Maui islanders to use caution amid the financial pressure they may face in the aftermath of the devastation.
“While property owners have the right to sell their properties, unsolicited offers from buyers may result in owners receiving less than they otherwise would,” the commerce officials warned.
“The appeal of an all-cash offer, a quick closing, a hassle-free transaction, a pre-closing cash advance, the payment of liens, avoiding commissions, avoiding attorneys’ fees, and avoiding foreclosure, are all things owners may be told to induce them to sign a contract under a time deadline that does not allow for the consumer to make a sound decision or consult with others.”
Green’s Housing Crisis Proclamation
Weeks before the fires, Gov. Green had already proclaimed a statewide housing emergency that suspended many state and local home-building regulations, with a goal to build 50,000 new homes in five years to ease the state’s housing problems.Under the proclamation, local governments are granted greater flexibility to fast-track housing project applications, while developers have the chance to work around regulatory procedures such as zoning, environmental review, historic preservation, and other matters to get their housing projects approved.
Specifically, the proclamation established a 36-member “Build Beyond Barriers” working group, whose members include officials in Green’s administration along with representatives of county offices and the private sector. The panel reviews housing project applications and determines, by simple majority vote, whether a project can use less demanding regulations or proceed without further review.
“Hawaii has the most expensive housing prices in the United States because we have failed to sufficiently build homes for our residents,” the governor said at a July 17 press conference, advocating for a “bold action to streamline processes for creating thousands of affordable housing units.”
Proponents of Gov. Green’s deregulatory approach praised his shifting away from the Democratic Party’s typical pro-regulation stance, although some expressed concerns over the use of emergency power.
“In effect, Gov. Green has created a housing sandbox that will give us a good opportunity to identify what works, what can be improved and what permanent changes can be made to encourage long-term housing growth in our state,” Keli'i Akina, president of Honolulu-based free market think tank Grassroot Institute, wrote in a blog post.
“The bad news ... is that the very nature of the governor’s action could limit its effectiveness. By their nature, emergency orders are temporary measures. So the clock is already ticking on Hawaii’s new, streamlined approach to affordable housing.”
The proclamation’s opponents, on the other hand, accused the governor of abusing his power, arguing that the housing shortage is not an actual disaster or emergency that would allow him to bypass the Legislature to make alternate regulatory decisions.
On Thursday, a coalition consisting of the Hawaii chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, environmental group Sierra Club, and several other advocacy groups, sued the Green administration, alleging that the governor “exceeded his statutory and constitutional authority.”
When it comes to rebuilding Lahaina, Build Beyond Barriers said this is not what the group is focusing on.
Several others claimed that the state is planning to seize Maui land and build a “smart city” on it. Ms. Medeiros dismissed such claims, insisting that her group was created before the Maui fires and is not planning to discuss the matter.
