The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Lāna‘i Planning Commission on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Feb. 18, 2026, 5 p.m.
Remote meeting
To: Lāna’i Planning Commission
Reynold Gima, Chair
Nicole Alboro, Vice Chair
From: Jonathan Helton, Policy Analyst
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
RE: Item A(2) — ON ACCESSORY DWELLINGS ON RESIDENTIALLY ZONED LOTS
Aloha Chair Gima, Vice Chair Alboro and other members of the Commission,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports Item A(2), which would allow two accessory dwelling units per lot in all of Maui County’s residential zoning districts.
This proposal would be a powerful tool for homeowners and homebuilders to help provide shelter to their friends and family and combat the broader housing crisis.
Currently, many Lana’i and Moloka’i homeowners are prevented from building an ADU at all, unless they brave the costly and time-consuming process of obtaining a special-use permit.
On Lana’i and Moloka’i, a single ADU is allowed on lots that are 7,500 square feet or larger.[1] But many residential lots are smaller than that, which greatly limits the ability of local homeowners to build additional housing on their property.
Meanwhile, on the island of Maui, lots smaller than 7,500 square feet are allowed one ADU, while lots larger than 7,500 square feet can have two.
Grassroot pointed out in its 2023 report “How to facilitate more homebuilding in Hawaii” that allowing more homes on the same lot is a powerful approach that many states and cities across the county have used to increase housing supply.
Such places include Minneapolis, Minnesota; Houston, Texas; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Columbus, Ohio; as well as the entire states of California and Montana.[2] Auckland, New Zealand, is a good international example.[3]
All of those jurisdictions “upzoned” residential areas to allow greater housing density on land already zoned for housing — and research indicates these changes have helped moderate or reduce housing prices.[4]
There are other advantages to promoting smaller homes. For instance, focusing on “infill” development — building homes within existing residentially zoned areas — would help alleviate concerns related to infrastructure because existing residential areas typically have more water and wastewater infrastructure available.
Legalizing more homes in existing residential areas would also be in line with the 2016 Lana’i Community Plan. The plan’s chapter on housing states that one of the plan’s strategies is to:
“Encourage new development to include a variety of lot sizes, housing types, tenures and price points that accommodate the full spectrum of household compositions, life stages (i.e. single, married, with children, multigenerational, etc.) and income levels. Ensuring housing variety on Lana’i will increase residents’ ability to remain on the island when family or economic circumstances change. Housing types include small and large single-family detached homes, ohana dwelling units, duplexes, town homes, multifamily buildings and live-work units.”[5]
Furthermore, this draft bill would put the county into compliance with the state’s Act 39 (2024), which requires the counties to allow two ADUs per lot in residential zones by Dec. 31, 2026.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Jonathan Helton
Policy Analyst
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] “Chapter 19.35 – ACCESSORY DWELLINGS,” Maui County Code, accessed Nov. 3, 2025.
[2] Laurel Wamsley, “The hottest trend in U.S. cities? Changing zoning rules to allow more housing,” NPR, Feb. 17, 2024.
[3] Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy, “Can Zoning Reform Reduce Housing Costs? Evidence from Rents in Auckland,” University of Auckland Business School, Economic Policy Centre Working Paper No. 016, June 2023.
[4] Christina Plerhoples Stacy, Christopher Davis, Yonah Freemark, et al., “Land-Use Reforms and Housing Costs,” Urban Institute, March 29, 2023; and Vicki Been, Ingrid Gould Ellen and Katherine M. O’Regan, “Supply Skepticism Revisited,” New York University Law and Economics Research Paper No. 24-12, Nov. 10, 2023.
[5] “Lana’i Community Plan 2016,” approved by the Maui County Council on July 26, 2016, p. 11-4.
