Grassroot Institute of Hawaii Recognized for Lahaina Rebuild Advocacy

News Release from Atlas Network, Nov, 2025

The August 8, 2023, wildfires that devastated Lahaina, Maui, killed over 100 people, displaced thousands, and triggered long-term recovery challenges due to Hawaii’s highly restrictive land-use and zoning rules. These layered regulations, particularly in Lahaina’s shoreline and historic districts, have slowed rebuilding and worsened the state’s severe housing crisis, where median home prices in most counties exceed $1 million, which has in turn driven residents off the islands.

The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii has worked to accelerate Lahaina’s recovery by identifying and challenging regulatory and tax barriers. Their approach—listening and learning, raising awareness, and advocating—has included meeting with affected residents, researching disaster recovery models, testifying over 60 times before Maui officials, collaborating with the governor’s office, and publishing widely in the media.

Their efforts helped inspire the creation of a private permitting office to speed approvals, offering a model for post-disaster rebuilding in other communities.