It’s disheartening to see what appears to be yet another flimsy NIMBY dispute igniting over where to build affordable housing. Neighbors have been blocking crews from completing a drainage structure for Hale Makana o Maili, an apartment complex under construction in Maili.

Previously, a neighbors group filed a now-dismissed lawsuit against the city and a developer, maintaining that the 52-unit two-story complex’s density threatened to overwhelm the rural neighborhood. If even a small project like this one touches off battles, the push to add some 17,000 units to Oahu’s affordable housing inventory seems sadly Sisyphean.