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| Courtesy Hawaii Planning Department |
Last summer, the county Planning Department received a record 25 applications for the program that allows people living near the plant to sell their home to the county at as much as 130 percent of assessed value.
The intent of the program, established with the county’s share of geothermal royalties, was to help people concerned about health and other impacts from the plant to be able to move away.
Five relocations have been approved to date, with the most recent in 2012.
Because of the high volume of requests, which occurred while the County Council was considering using the relocation fund to cover a geothermal health study, the department chose to withhold action until it could contract the work of purchasing and reselling the homes.
Joaquin Gamiao, planning administrative officer, said Wednesday the department is in the final stages of approving a contract with Prudential Orchid Isle Properties to assist with the transactions and could begin purchasing homes in the next couple months.
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