For Immediate Release:
Press release by:
Tom Cook, Councilmember
Maui County Council
media@mauicounty.us
Council passes bill to approve emergency permitting for expedited housing in Lahaina and Upcountry
WAILUKU, Hawaiʻi (March 8, 2024)—Councilmember Tom Cook announced today that the Maui County Council passed on final reading a bill for emergency construction permits to expedite housing development in Lahaina and Upcountry Maui.
Cook said Bill 21 (2024) was submitted by the county’s Department of Public Works in response to the August wildfires and was recommended for approval in an amended version by the Water and Infrastructure Committee, which he chairs. Under the building code’s emergency permitting process, driveway and grading permits would be consolidated with electrical and plumbing permits in a modified permit application. These applications will be reviewed and approved by a third-party vendor that will be selected and contracted by the Department of Public Works.
“I would like to acknowledge the work that the departments have done, their responsiveness to our community over the past few months and the level of commitment that all of the county workers have shown,” said Cook, who holds the seat for the South Maui residency area. “Recovery efforts require a multifaceted approach, and this bill pursues multiple parallel solutions to address the county’s permitting process.”
To provide more housing opportunities, the bill allows eligible property owners to exceed their previous building footprint, and owners of vacant land may construct ʻohana units to create homes for survivors, he said.
Approval of a permit application may be requested by the property owner after 15 days if no action is taken. Approvals may be withheld if disaster debris removal is not complete, essential services are not restored, an agency review is required, a land use approval is pending or public infrastructure improvements immediately adjacent to the property are pending.
The bill now goes to the mayor for approval. If enacted, the ordinance’s emergency provisions will remain in effect for four years from the date of the governor’s most recent emergency proclamation, unless extended by the mayor.
For more information, contact the Department of Public Works at (808) 270-7845 or Cook’s office at (808) 270-7108 or Thomas.Cook@mauicounty.us.
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