A major cleanup at Kahului Harbor on Maui is set to take place at the beginning of May.
Community complaints noted an accumulation of rubbish, personal items, and vehicles throughout the harbor’s open areas and parking lots.
This week, a team from the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation and DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement placed notices on 54 illegally parked vehicles, many of them inoperable, saying they will be towed on May 6.
Almost 30 people were also advised that the state and a contractor would be cleaning up the harbor on May 2 and 3.
People living at the harbor were advised to pack up their personal belongings since anything left behind would be hauled off.
Social services providers have been visiting the harbor daily for the past two months. The county said 10 people have accepted assistance and moved into temporary or transitional housing.
Maui County is holding space for the remaining people if they decide to transition into more permanent housing.
“We recognize the plight houseless individuals face and the extraordinary high cost of living on Maui and across the state. However, our boating facilities are open to everyone and it is not appropriate for certain individuals to decide to set up living quarters and to literally trash out places that are owned by all the citizens of Hawai‘i," DOBOR Administrator Ed Underwood said in a statement.
"Currently the harbor area looks like an abandoned vehicle junkyard and we have an obligation to make sure it is clean for the many boaters, fishers, and recreationalists who utilize our facilities on a daily basis," Underwood said.
