The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Senate Committee on Water and Land on Feb. 3, 2025.
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Feb. 3, 2025, 1:06 p.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 229 and Videoconference
To: Senate Committee on Water and Land
Sen. Lorraine Inouye, Chair
Sen. Brandon Elefante, Vice-Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: SB1296 — RELATING TO DISASTER RECOVERY
Aloha Chair Inouye, Vice-Chair Elefante and other members of the Committee,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports SB1296, which would exempt any structures in the Lahaina National Historic Landmark District that were destroyed by the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfires from needing a special management area minor permit or use permit — provided that such structures are not on a shoreline parcel and are rebuilt no greater in size than they existed prior to the wildfires.
The bill would also increase the valuation threshold between a special management area minor permit and a use permit for work in areas subject to a federal disaster proclamation as of Aug. 8, 2023 from $500,000 to $750,000.
The figures have not been updated since 2011, when the threshold was increased from $125,000 to $500,000.[1] Adjusted for inflation, $500,000 in December 2010 had the same purchasing power as $719,970 in December 2024,[2] hence the need to increase the thresholds, even if just for Lahaina’s rebuilding.
This measure is critical for Lahaina’s comeback. Gov. Josh Green provided multifamily dwellings an exemption from SMA rules in an October emergency proclamation, in addition to the exemption that already exists in statute for most single-family homes.[3]
But without a streamlined SMA process, Lahaina’s businesses will face an uphill battle to return to their community, since obtaining an SMA use permit from Maui County could take years.
Typically, this involves an application to the Maui Planning Department and a hearing from the Maui County Planning Commission. Over the past decade, since Jan. 1, 2015, the Maui Planning Commission has issued only 41 SMA use permits.[4] At the rate of four per year, it would take the county decades to approve all the permits needed for Lahaina’s businesses to rebuild.
If businesses cannot return to Lahaina in a timely manner, there will be fewer entrepreneurial and job opportunities for residents, and the town could lose much of its community, and certainly its historic charm and character.
Increasing these SMA permit thresholds would also assist the owners of structures located in the SMA but not the Lahaina National Historic Landmark District.
We ask the Committee to advance this measure to give Lahaina’s people a better chance to rebuild and thrive.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] Session Laws of Hawaii 2011 Act 153, accessed Jan. 31, 2025.
[2] “CPI Inflation Calculator,” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, December 2010 compared to December 2024, accessed Jan. 31, 2025.
[3] “Eighteenth Proclamation Relating to Wildfire,” Office of the Governor, Oct. 8, 2024, p. 10.
[4] Maui’s Automated Planning and Permitting System, accessed Jan. 31, 2025. Plan type: SM1 – Special Management Area Use Permit – Maui. Status: Approved. Applied date: From 1/1/2025.
