The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Maui County Council on July 19, 2024.
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July 19, 2024, 9 a.m.
Council Chamber, Kalana O Maui Building
To: Maui County Council
Alice Lee, Chair
Yuki Lei Sugimura, Vice-Chair
From: Jonathan Helton, Policy Researcher
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
RE: Bill 104 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTERS 19.04, 19.08, AND 19.29, MAUI COUNTY CODE, ADDING A NEW DEFINITION AND USE FOR KITCHENETTE AND AMENDING THE EXISTING DEFINITIONS OF DWELLING UNIT AND WET BAR, AND AMENDING SECTION 19.36B.020 TO ADD PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR KITCHENETTES
Aloha Chair Lee, Vice-Chair Sugimura and other members of the Council,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii would like to offer its support for — and an amendment to — Bill 104 (2024), which would allow up to two “kitchenettes” in dwellings in the residential and rural zoning districts on the islands of Maui and Lanai.
A kitchenette is defined in the bill as an area “used for the small-scale preparation and serving of food and beverages that may contain a sink, a refrigerator… and small appliances for the preparation of hot food or beverages, such as counter-top appliances and/or a two-burner range.”[1]
In essence, this bill is responding to the reality that often an individual or family who occupies part of a house will want access to a sink, refrigerator and a countertop to prepare food. Current code allows only one kitchen per dwelling unit, thus discouraging multigenerational households and rooming.
Allowing owners in residential and rural zones to legally install small sinks, refrigerators and other appliances would increase the availability of housing by increasing the amount of space with normal amenities.
Since many Maui households displaced by the August 2023 wildfires will be living together for some time, this bill is a smart, simple approach to a big problem.
As to the amendment, Grassroot believes that section 7 of the bill, which would require one parking space per kitchenette, should be removed.
A 2020 study from the Ulupono Initiative found that a single on-grade, residential parking space on Maui could cost as much as $15,200.[2] This estimate was prepared prior to the advent of COVID-19, so the costs are likely much higher.
Requiring property owners to add an extra parking space as a condition of building a kitchenette would drive up costs, which could in turn encourage people to build kitchenettes without a permit. The result would either be less housing created or more unpermitted construction, both of which run counter to the bill’s intent.
Finally, Grassroot recommends that the Council consult with the director of the Department of Water on the issue of fixture units to maximize the success of this bill.
Any new kitchenettes would require water, and the county’s annual budget sets limits on the number of fixtures — a rough proxy for water use[3] — that each type of water meter can accommodate.[4]
A homeowner with a water meter who is already using its maximum fixture units would not be able to add a new sink, even if the bill passed.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Jonathan Helton
Policy Researcher
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] Kate Blystone, “A Bill For an Ordinance Amending Section 19.500.110, Maui County Code, Regarding Nonconformities,” Memo to the Maui, Molokai and Lanai Planning Commissions, Feb. 21, 2024, p. 3.
[2] “The Costs of Parking in Hawai‘i,” prepared by PBR & Associates for the Ulupono Initiative, August 2020, p. 3.
[3] “Fixture unit,” Wikipedia, accessed Feb. 20, 2024.
[4] “Revenues – Fees, Rates, Assessments and Taxes: Appendix B,” Maui County Budget for Fiscal Year 2024-25, Appendix B, p. 60.
