The Maui County Council passed a bill on first reading Friday that would allow for factory-built housing in the Lahaina burn zone, a measure intended to accelerate housing recovery for survivors of the August 2023 wildfires.

Bill 15, introduced by West Maui Council Member Tamara Paltin, passed by a 6-3 vote following a debate that weighed the urgent need for shelter against concerns regarding local labor protections, construction warranties, building standards and long-term durability. The state already has used modular housing at Kilohana and Ka La‘i Ola as temporary shelter for Lahaina wildfire survivors.

Council Members Paltin, Alice Lee, Gabe Johnson, Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, Shane Sinenci and Nohelani U‘u-Hodgins voted in favor of the measure. Vice-Chair Yuki Lei Sugimura and Council Members Tom Cook and Kauanoe Batangan voted against it.

The bill amends the Maui County Code to establish procedures for the design, manufacture, installation, inspection and transport of factory-built housing specifically within the area devastated by the wildfires. The wildfires destroyed more than 2,000 structures, displaced thousands of residents and claimed at least 102 lives.

Bill proponents argued that traditional “stick-built” construction methods are too slow and expensive to meet the immediate needs of displaced residents, many of whom face uncertainty regarding the expiration of federal housing assistance – although it has been extended through February 2027 for nearly 1,000 households.

“We need housing now. We needed it like two years ago,” Rawlins-Fernandez said.

Paltin emphasized the dire situation facing her West Maui constituents.

“So we’re not even thinking three years warranty, whatever. We’re thinking, where are people going to sleep in one year, in one month?” Paltin said. “That’s the pressing concern. If you’re talking about warranties into 30 years, 10 years, five years from now, how are these people going to make it five years from now?”

Opponents and skeptics raised concerns about quality control, the potential export of local construction jobs to off-island factories and consumer protection.

Testifying on behalf of the Hawaiʻi Regional Council of Carpenters, Mark Clemente told the Council that while the union supports the use of factory-built housing to help residents rebuild quickly, “speed must not come at the expense of consumer protection.”

Clemente raised issues regarding liability if defects arise, questioning whether homeowners would have clear recourse against off-island manufacturers.

Cook, a general contractor, expressed skepticism. “I’m just not a fan,” he said of the quality of some factory-built units. He recalled a personal experience staying in one on the Mainland.

“It was a tin can,” Cook said.

Cook also shared with council members that Mayor Richard Bissen had called him in December or January  to express opposition to similar legislation. Cook argued that the local workforce has the capacity to rebuild Lahaina without relying on imported structures.

“I think that a homegrown (home) can be built,” Cook said, adding that he believes government hurdles are a bigger impediment to rebuilding than the capacity of local workers.

Sugimura expressed concerns as well and sought more input.

“I would like to hear from  Public Works,” she said.

Rawlins-Fernandez asked if anyone asked a representative from the Department of Public Works to attend the Council meeting. “We’re not in a committee meeting,” she said.

Paltin said the department “wrote the bill, initially.”

Sugimura said she didn’t understand. “I think we heard from Member Cook (that) Mayor Bissen called him to say that he does not support this bill. Is that what he said?”

Rawlins-Fernandez answered, saying: “So that was Bill 122, not Bill 15. And Bill 15 is what we’re taking up.”

Bill 122 would allow factory-built housing countywide, while Bill 15 would only permit such housing in the Lahaina burn zone as a way to address the housing crisis there.

“But it’s very similar,” Sugimura said.

“I’m still talking,” Rawlins-Fernandez told her.

Nevertheless, Sugimura continued, saying: “And I would like to have Public Works here. I think what Member Batangan is saying is that doing committee work in Council is what we’re doing… Can we have some more information?”

Lee said she didn’t think there was time to call in the director of Public Works for input.

The Council chair said she’s not a strong supporter of modular homes, but the difference with Bill 15 is that it applies to the Lahaina burn zone. “And so I can see this tremendous effort to compromise and the fact that there’s a drop dead date shows you that there’s an end to this.”

Sugimura echoed concerns about economic impact, saying she preferred “locally built housing” rather than units shipped from the Mainland.

U‘u-Hodgins recognized the desperate need for housing, especially in Lahaina.

“I don’t disagree that we need housing now,” she said. “We’ve needed housing for so long. I also don’t want to lose any high-paying jobs for people who couldn’t go to college and do all of that. It is one of the few (high-paying) jobs we have here. And so to export the jobs would be junk; and to lose our people would be just as junk.”

However, U‘u-Hodgins eventually voted in favor of the bill after introducing several amendments aimed at narrowing its scope.

The Bill 15 amendments passed by the Council were to:

• Remove references to “other structures,” to limit the factory-built alternative to housing.
• Exclude the new measure from applying to projects under Chapter 201H, Hawaii Revised Statute (state fast-track housing), and Chapters 2.96 and 2.97 of the Maui County Code (county workforce and affordable housing).
• Include a sunset clause (effectively, repeal the ordinance) so that permit applications for factory-built units will not be accepted after Dec. 31, 2031.
• Require the Department of Public Works to report “measurements of success” to the Council.

Johnson supported the bill as a necessary step to provide affordable options for working-class families who cannot afford traditional custom homes.

“It’s the money, Lebowski,” Johnson said, noting the high cost of local construction and referencing a scene with the quote “Where’s the money, Lebowski?” from the 1998 movie, “The Big Lebowski.”

“I just can’t afford the homes that are built with, you know, heavy duty, everything and all the bells and whistles. I need a home. My home burned down,” Johnson said, empathizing with wildfire survivors.

Batangan, who voted no, said he appreciated the amendments limiting the bill geographically and temporally, but he wanted more time to understand the metrics of success and the potential impacts before the second reading.

“I think that I owe it to the body, and to the community at large, to continue learning about the pros and cons of this proposal,” Batangan said.

The bill requires a second and final reading before it can be sent to the mayor for final action.

As council members debated Bill 15, Gov. Josh Green announced through a news release that federal housing assistance had been extended through February 2027 for nearly 1,000 Maui wildfire survivors. Green said the extension came after he reached out to US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The extension aligns the federal program with state-supported housing efforts for displaced residents, including the Ka Laʻi Ola temporary housing project, which will continue through August 2029.

The next regular Council meeting is Feb. 6 in the eighth-floor Council Chambers in the Kalana O Maui Building in Wailuku.