Senate bill passes to waive SMA permits for rebuilding in historic Lahaina town

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The devastating Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire left this portion of Front Street at the Lahaina seawall nearly unrecognizable as seen on March 26, 2024. PC: Brian Perry

A bill to help with rebuilding historic Lahaina town advanced Monday afternoon out of the Senate Water and Land Committee, chaired by Sen. Lorraine Inouye of Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island.

Senate Bill 1296 would not require special management area permits for structures in Lahaina town if they were destroyed in the deadly Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire disaster and if planned reconstruction stays within the footprint of the structure as it stood before it was consumed by flames.

Sne Patel, president of the LahainaTown Action Committee, said the bill is essential for Lahaina’s rebuilding.

“The Maui wildfires devastated Lahaina, displacing families, shuttering businesses and halting our local economy,” he said in written testimony. “Without streamlining the permitting process, rebuilding efforts will face unnecessary delays, leaving our community in limbo. While this bill is a step forward, we urge lawmakers to increase the SMA minor permit threshold to $1 million rather than $750,000. With construction costs exceeding $1,000 per square foot, compounded by inflation, labor shortages, and increased tariffs on steel and lumber, a higher threshold is critical to prevent further permitting roadblocks.”

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The committee advanced the legislation, introduced by West and South Maui Sen. Angus McKelvey, by removing its Part 2 on Page 9 as that section was considered redundant and unnecessary for the bill overall.

The committee meeting on the bill and others can be seen on YouTube here.

Senate Bill 830, drafted by Central Maui Sen. Troy Hashimoto, and its companion measure, House Bill 1181, introduced by Central Maui Rep. Tyson Miyake, would narrow the scope of the definition of the term “development” in coastal zone management law by excluding reconstruction of structures impacted by disasters. No hearings have been scheduled yet on those measures, however.

McKelvey’s Senate bill would not exempt properties directly on the shoreline. The bill also increases the valuation threshold of development subject to a special management area permit from $500,000 to $750,000 when it’s located within the area covered by a federal disaster declaration on Aug. 8, 2023.

Sen. Lorraine Inouye of Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island, chairs the Senate Water and Land Committee on Monday afternoon at the state Capitol in Honolulu. Her committee unanimously passed Senate Bill 1296 to waive special management area permits for non-shoreline properties in historic Lahaina town. PC: Screen shot from YouTube
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In written public testimony submitted to the committee, Mayor Richard Bissen and Maui County Department of Planning Director Kate Blystone supported the bill. They said it would not only expedite construction for non-shoreline structures, but also increase the SMA minor permit threshold to $750,000 for federal disaster areas, which is appropriate “given high construction costs witnessed after the August Lahaina wildfire. This steep cost increase can be assumed for future disaster events.”

Wailuku attorney Jeffrey Ueoka testified in favor of the Senate bill, saying that “while there will be many more challenges and hurdles to overcome while rebuilding, SB1296 provides some desperately needed relief from a very complicated regulatory process.”

Ueoka is a land-use attorney assisting with Front Street Recovery, a coalition of business owners dedicated to rebuilding and revitalizing Front Street.

Testifying on behalf of the LahainaTown Action Committee and the Front Street Recovery Organization, Haloa Dudoit said: “This bill is critical to helping our community rebuild from the Lahaina wildfires. Property owners within the SMA face not only devastating loss but also an overwhelming, complex rebuild process that threatens their ability to restore their homes, businesses and livelihoods; all essential to Lahaina’s recovery.”

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Dudoit added that nearly a year and a half has passed since the wildfires, “yet progress is slow, with little beyond debris removal. With a sunset date of August 8, 2028, this bill provides a clear and necessary pathway for rebuilding before it is too late.”

The bill acknowledges the necessity, under the Coastal Zone Management law, to control development near shorelines to avoid permanent losses of valuable resources and the foreclosure of management options. The law also has safeguard to ensure adequate public access to publicly owned beaches, recreation areas and natural reserves.

Rebuilding efforts in Lahaina will face significant challenges from rapidly rising construction costs, which are expected to escalate in light of the massive Los Angeles wildfires.

A map included as part of public testimony from the Historic Hawai‘i Foundation shows the borders of the Lahaina historic district. PC: Screen shot from Hawai‘i State Legislature

The bill says SMA valuation thresholds were established in 2014 and are outdated because of significant increases in construction costs.

In Maui County, the Department of Planning administers the Coastal Zone Management law, and the Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi planning commissions are the decision-making authorities for SMA permits.

An SMA permit is the first permit required for developments within designated coastal areas. No agency is authorized to issue other development permits within SMA areas unless approval is first received within SMA procedures provided in state law.

Brian Perry
Brian Perry worked as a staff writer and editor at The Maui News from 1990 to 2018. Before that, he was a reporter at the Pacific Daily News in Agana, Guam. From 2019 to 2022, he was director of communications in the Office of the Mayor.
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