Maui council to consider bill to establish criteria for ʻOhana Assistance Pilot Program

The Maui council will consider a bill Dec. 15 to establish criteria for the ʻOhana Assistance Pilot Program, which offers grants of up to $100,000 to build an accessory dwelling or second farm dwelling for residents’ long-term occupancy.

Maui County Council Chair Alice L. Lee said the legislation, Bill 38, CD1 (2023), follows the council’s enactment of Ordinance 5525, which established the program and took effect June 8. Lee noted the zoning code allows one accessory dwelling, or ʻohana, unit on all residential lots regardless of size and two accessory dwelling units on lots of at least 7,500 square feet.

“We need housing now more than ever, and the new ʻOhana Assistance Program is an effort to make additional housing more attainable,” said Lee, who introduced bill. “For multigenerational families especially, this program could provide the extra help needed to house their family members.”

Presiding Officer Pro Tempore Tasha Kama said ʻohana units represent an opportunity to increase housing supply in areas where infrastructure currently exists. Kama chairs the Housing and Land Use Committee, which amended and recommended passage of Bill 38 on Wednesday.

“I am thankful to my colleagues for working on the legislation in committee and look forward to first reading of this bill at council next Friday,” Kama said in a news release. “I am hopeful that Maui County homeowners will be able to use the proposed county grant to add ʻohana units on their property sometime this next coming year.”

If the bill passes first reading on Dec. 15, second and final reading would be planned for Jan. 12. Legislation and other supporting documents are accessible via the meeting agendas at mauicounty.us/agendas.

In-person, online and phone testimony is welcome at all meetings. Testimony instructions are on the meeting agendas.