The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Maui County Council on June 27, 2025.
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June 27, 2025, 9 a.m.
Kalana O Maui Building
To: Maui County Council
Alice Lee, Chair
Yuki Lei Sugimura, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Jonathan Helton, Policy Researcher
RE: Bill 104 (2024), CD1 — RELATING TO KITCHENETTES, KITCHENS, DWELLING UNITS AND WET BARS
Aloha Chair Lee, Vice Chair Sugimura and other members of the Committee,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports Bill 104 (2024), CD1, which would allow one kitchenette in principal dwelling units in the residential and rural zoning districts of Maui and Lanai.
The bill defines “kitchenette” 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 occupying only 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 homeowners 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 have been and will be living together for some time, this bill is a smart, simple approach to a big problem.
Legalizing kitchenettes also appears to be in line with the 2012 Maui Island Plan, which states that “increasing the density of housing is a more efficient use of land. It also saves on linear miles of roads, water lines and other utilities that need to be built and maintained. Increasing the density of housing also preserves more land for agriculture and open space.”[2]
Likewise, one of the policies outlined in the same section says the County should “use planning and regulatory approaches to provide higher housing densities.”[3]
Furthermore, Grassroot supports Councilmember Tamara Paltin’s proposed floor draft, which would increase the legal size of a refrigerator in a kitchenette from 7.5 cubic feet to 17.6 cubic feet.
Grassroot would have preferred that kitchenettes not face any parking requirements and that Bill 104 not change Maui’s rules surrounding wet bars but supports the overall intent of the bill nonetheless.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Jonathan Helton
Policy Analyst
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,” letter to the Maui, Molokai and Lanai planning commissions, Feb. 21, 2024, p. 3.
[2] “Maui Island Plan,” Maui County Planning Department, Dec. 28, 2012, pp. 5-4 and 5-5.
[3] Ibid, pp. 5-6.
