Photo courtesy of Waiola Church
The following commentary was originally published on Jan. 30, 2025, by The Maui News under the headline “Allow the Lahaina churches to be rebuilt as they were.”
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Waiola Church in Lahaina is no stranger to disaster, but trying to rebuild after being incinerated by the August 2023 wildfires could be its biggest challenge yet.
Established by Christian missionaries in 1823 at the invitation of Queen Keopuolani, the Waiola church building was destroyed in 1953 during a wind storm, and twice before that by fires.
But this latest devastation occurred in an era in which land-use, zoning and permitting regulations have come to dominate the rebuilding landscape, putting into question the fate of many historic churches and temples that were left in ashes by the 2023 fires.
One rule in particular is the primary problem: According to the Maui County Code, you can’t build a church, temple or other religious meeting place in a residential zone by-right. Yet, many of Lahaina’s churches and temples lost in the fire were built on land zoned R-1 or R-2.
These include the Lahaina Jodo Mission, King’s Chapel Lahaina, Lahaina Shingon Mission, Lahaina Hongwanji Mission, the Lahaina Seventh-day Adventist Church and Emmanuel Lutheran Maui. All were considered nonconforming uses, but had been grandfathered into the current zoning code.
Now, however, their futures are in doubt because the county code also states: “Any nonconforming use that is discontinued for twelve consecutive months shall not be resumed.”
Since it took government officials almost a year to clear away all the fire debris and let people start rebuilding in residential areas, and still is unfinished in other areas, this 12-month rule poses quite a problem.
Lahaina property owners who previously operated grandfathered nonconforming uses such as churches in residential areas now must obtain a special use permit, which typically involves a long, complicated and uncertain permitting process, to resume the use.
For example, the Wailuku Hongwanji Mission in Wailuku applied for a special use permit in July 2024 because it intends to demolish its existing building and construct a new facility, but it is located in a residential zone. Six months on, the Maui Planning Commission has yet to hear the application.
For the half-dozen or more religious organizations in Lahaina that might need to navigate this process to rebuild, it’s a gloomy prospect.
And this single permit would be in addition to all of the other land-use and zoning approvals they might need — including possibly special management area, national historic landmark district, shoreline, historic preservation and building permits.
Ultimately, action from the Maui County Council and mayor would be the simplest path forward for everyone — and, in fact, there is a bill currently before the Council that could achieve this goal.
Bill 105, which has been heard by the Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee, would waive the nonconformity rule for churches, temples and anyone else seeking to rebuild in the wake of the Lahaina fires.
It wouldn’t waive the county’s building or fire codes; these safety-related rules would be kept in place. But it would waive the nonconformity rule for five years and would give the county’s planning director the ability to extend the waiver for good cause.
Lahaina was an old town, after all, and many of its buildings had quirks that can’t be rebuilt under current zoning codes. This uniqueness contributed to Lahaina’s charm.
Should Bill 105 become law, not only would Lahaina’s religious organizations benefit, but nonconforming business and apartment buildings destroyed by the fires could be rebuilt as they were too.
After the fire, Waiola Church minister Anela Rosa vowed the church would return.
For Waiola Church, the Jodo Mission and other religious establishments in Lahaina, Bill 105 would move this dream a step closer to reality.
