The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Maui County Council on July 8, 2025.
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July 8, 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 Analyst
RE: Bill 104 (2024), CD1 FD1 — 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 FD1, which would allow one kitchenette per principal dwelling 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.
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, the Maui Island Plan also says the County should “use planning and regulatory approaches to provide higher housing densities.”[3]
Grassroot appreciates that the Council removed the provision setting maximum size of the refrigerator allowed in a kitchenette. Such a rule would have been difficult for the county to enforce and could have created extra headaches for homeowners trying to navigate the county’s permitting process for adding a kitchenette.
On the other hand, Grassroot would have preferred that kitchenettes not face any parking requirements, and that Bill 104 not change Maui’s rules surrounding wet bars.
Nonetheless, Grassroot supports the overall intent of the bill.
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,” in “Maui County General Plan 2030,” Maui County Planning Department, Dec. 28, 2012, pp. 5-4 and 5-5.
[3] Ibid, p. 5-6.
