Support On Spencer’s Affordable Housing Projects Expressed in Maui News

The following was published on Maui News on August 9, 2008 on the Letters to The Editors section. Written by Debra B. Farmer:

I am an advocate for local families to be able to have a family home that they can afford. I’m fortunate enough to have a home already so I speak from experience.

The pride of ownership, having enough room for everyone and providing a permanent, stable home for a family to blossom and grow in, is a necessity. But here on Maui, owning an affordable home is like winning the lottery, literally.

Jesse Spencer is a man with an impeccable track record on Maui. He is widely known and loved by all who know him. He provides high-quality, affordable homes for families that live here. And to sweeten the pot he also provides steady, dependable jobs for different folks who live here. All these families live here already, they already use Maui’s beaches, Maui’s highways, etc., etc.

But what junk I read from a NIMBY transplant who complains these homes should not be built (Viewpoint, Aug. 3) because they will ruin “his” ag-land scenery, because they will all swarm in and use “his” beach and will probably sneak in and use “his” pool. And ultimately it would scrap his fantasy of “one day” – 40 to 50 years from now – seeing a light rail system put in for our tourists.

The real truth is this: That proposed land has already been slated and approved for development. When multimillion-dollar homes were going to be put in, you didn’t hear him complain. I believe it is only the mention of “affordable” homes that make him disdainful. Tell it like it is.

Deborah B. Farmer

Kihei

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