This week, the Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee considered a bill that would allow Lahaina buildings that don’t conform to current zoning codes to be rebuilt after the fire.
Kimo Falconer is a fifth-generation owner of the iconic Pioneer Inn property in Lahaina, built in 1901. He testified in favor of Bill 105.
“We would love to be able to rebuild it the way it was,” he said. “That's what everybody knows and everybody appreciates. I think everybody in Lahaina wants to do the same thing.”
However, according to current county law, structures that don’t conform to zoning codes and were damaged by more than 50% must meet new code requirements.
They also have to be rebuilt within one year. This means that many of the historic buildings in Lahaina would not be able to be rebuilt as they once stood.
Greg Pfost of the Maui County Planning Department explains what nonconforming means.
“A nonconforming building is basically a structure that was previously lawful, meaning that it obtained a permit or approval but does not comply with development standards of our existing Title 19 zoning code, such as density yard requirements, setbacks or height regulations,” Pfost said.
Nonconforming can also refer to the use of a structure — for example, a retail business operating in a residential zone.
Under the proposed bill, nonconforming buildings would be allowed to be rebuilt within five years, with a potential extension of two additional years — giving property owners more time.
Exactly how much of Lahaina was nonconforming? That’s not clear.
Pfost says the county doesn’t have a list.
“I'm not sure how we would undertake that analysis,” he told committee members.
“We're actually putting the burden on the property owner, because, really, I don't believe the department has the ability to actually go through every property and identify what a nonconforming structure was,” Pfost added.
Maui County planner Jordan Hart says in many of Hawaiʻi’s historic communities, nonconformity is what brings that quaint charm.
“In all the older towns, like the uniqueness and character is based on the irregularity,” Hart explained. “So that this allows to preserve that, but they have to comply with the new building standards.”
Hart says even if the bill passes, rebuilt nonconforming structures would still have to meet current rules for fire, safety and flood hazards.
The goal of the existing laws regarding nonconformity is to eventually phase out those structures, so everything would be built to current codes.
While many residents supported the bill, some suggested that with the clean slate from the fire, nonconformity should be eliminated, based on the community's desires for Lahaina's future.
Committee members are also weighing an amendment, proposed by West Maui Councilmember Tamara Paltin, that would exclude buildings used for short-term rentals from the bill. It’s unclear how many short-term rentals would be affected by the amendment.
After hours of discussion and public testimony, the committee deferred a decision on the issue to a future meeting, pending additional information requested from the Planning Department.
