Insights from rebuilding Lahaina could inform ‘Kona Low’ response

from Grassroot Institute of Hawaii

Many of the lessons learned from Maui County’s ongoing wildfire recovery efforts could help streamline statewide efforts to rebuild flood-damaged homes, farms, businesses and infrastructure following the recent Kona low storms, according to Jonathan Helton, policy analyst at the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii.

Helton detailed some of those lessons in an April 12 radio interview with H. Hawaii Media host Johnny Miro.

He characterized the rebuilding process in Lahaina after the August 2023 wildfires as “slow but steady,” noting that while more than 180 permits have been completed and about 300 homes are under construction, “there has not been a single commercial rebuild permit approved in almost two and a half years since the fires.”

The conversation revealed how bureaucratic bottlenecks continue to plague recovery efforts in Lahaina, particularly in the historic district. Helton explained that the Maui County Cultural Resources Commission, which is just one agency tasked with signing off on building permits, “has missed almost every other meeting since the Lahaina wildfires.”

Helton said the commission’s inability to meet regularly has created months-long delays for property owners seeking approval to rebuild. He said the county’s Office of Recovery finally stepped in and issued a directive in February allowing businesses that comply with design guidelines to bypass commission review, but still no commercial permits have been approved.

Looking ahead to Kona low flood recovery efforts across the state, Helton warned that Hawaii’s other counties have not yet adopted critical regulatory reforms that could expedite rebuilding. He said state lawmakers last year created exemptions for rebuilding projects in the designated shoreline Special Management Area, but so far only Maui County has adopted those changes at the county level.

Helton emphasized that “rebuilding needs to be predictable” and urged the counties to also waive rebuilding permit fees — which Maui County never did after the Lahaina wildfires — and adopt the state’s regulatory exemptions for rebuilding in the Special Management Area.

He also highlighted promising developments at the state Legislature, including a bill that would exempt infrastructure projects from Special Management Area requirements. Such a measure would allow Maui County to rebuild sewers, water pipes, and roads “without having to go through a bunch of extensive permits and hearings just to be able to rebuild back what was there,” Helton said.