Why Maui Still Hasn’t Recovered: A crushing regulatory burden and anti-growth policies have stymied efforts to rebuild homes and businesses lost in the 2023 wildfires

By Alex Hu. He is a Marshall Scholar at King’s College London. Excerpts:

"A year and a half since fires devastated the historic town of Lahaina on the island of Maui, Hawaii, only six houses have been rebuilt—six out of more than 2,000."

"Builders on Maui face a vast web of zoning restrictions, water-use regulations, and historical- and environmental-preservation requirements, and separate applications and schedules for electrical, plumbing, grading, and driveway work."

"the county took 206 days on average to issue a single building permit. Ordinarily, you need several to build a house from scratch."

"Even after the county took the extraordinary step of opening a dedicated Recovery Permitting Center in April—hiring private contractors to process permits—approvals still took over 50 days.'

"It was not until October 2024 that Hawaii governor Josh Green issued an emergency exemption sparing multifamily homes from “Special Management Area” reviews—coastal environmental reviews that would have added a whole additional year of permitting for 533 houses."

"Only last month did Maui Mayor Richard Bissen work with Governor Green to extend SMA exemptions to 103 affected commercial properties."

"Maui residents have long been furious at their leaders for allowing housing prices to quadruple over the past 20 years. The issue is not complex: a hostile regulatory environment has kept homebuilding from keeping pace with population growth. The only homes that do get built are typically large vacation properties for global elites, as those are the only projects that can turn a profit."

"The county has not only resisted updating its zoning code for 65 years but also added more layers of regulation and review."