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Lawmakers just appropriated approximately $1 billion to help build homes for residents. Now it’s up to the executive branch to make things happen.

On Maui, “affordable” can range from rentals as low as $600 per month to for-sale homes as high as $700,000.

Housing is an abstract goal, but the concrete reality usually sparks opposition from advocates for farmland or the environment or those simply worried about urban woes.

The decision comes as Native Hawaiian issues took center stage at this year’s Legislature.

Bill 41 limits short-term rentals to resort zones and certain nearby areas, while requiring other rentals be booked for a minimum of 90 days.

An estimated 15,000 housing units — about 1 in 5 throughout all of Maui County — are vacant, according to 2020 census estimates.

The 17 organizations will work together to help solve critical problems facing the island’s working families.

A bill dubbed the “Yes In My Backyard Act” would create a working group to develop a plan to reduce regulatory barriers and improve community outreach.

A UHERO report quantifies what homebuilders have long said: Hawaii’s robust land-use regulations contribute to housing costs.

A Canadian asset management company is stepping into a void with more than 1,000 apartments built or planned for Honolulu. But it’s tough to make it pencil out.