May 3 was sine die, the adjournment of the 2024 State Legislative Session. Each year, the Maui Chamber of Commerce is very active in both County and State legislative activities. With this being the second year of the State Legislature’s biennium, the session began with 5,536 bills introduced in 2023 and 2024. From January through April during the legislative session, we were busy tracking over 400 bills related to our priorities and submitted over 200 pieces of testimonies, with 40 in just one week.
While we are a business organization, housing is our top legislative priority because housing impacts us all. We have a severe worker shortage and residents moving off island because of our housing shortage, which negatively impacts our local businesses.
Given this, we are thrilled to see the passage of several bills in the 2024 State Legislative Session that will help to add to our housing inventory on Maui by widening building choices, allowing existing property owners to add units, and converting commercial properties to housing units.
House Bill 2090 allows the reuse of commercial buildings for residential purposes as well as having housing units above commercial properties. The bill provides flexibility as we rebuild historic districts that once had many mom ’n pop stores where the owners lived on the top floor. Repurposing buildings could also help to revive commercial center districts and reduce rush hour traffic by allowing some people to live closer to their workplace. Hayden Aluli, an attorney and a co-trustee of the Aluli Trust, with several commercial properties along Market Street in Wailuku, said the new law could help to open new opportunities in Wailuku Town. “It’s exciting,” said Aluli. “It could change the whole fabric of Wailuku.”
Another measure, Senate Bill 3202, allows the number of accessory dwellings to increase from one to two on residential properties statewide, including Maui where the numbers have been limited to one. State Senator Troy Hashimoto said some residential areas, limited by water or space, may not be able to add a second accessory dwelling. But Hashimoto said the situation might be different in Lahaina, where rebuilding might accommodate more density. “It’s a potential tool,” Hashimoto said.
Additionally, Senate Bill 1170 creates a program, where in addition to federal and state entities, counties including Maui County would offer a tax credit program to developers of affordable housing, which can help housing projects better pencil out and be more affordable to build.
Housing developer Chris Flaherty, the managing general partner of the Oahu-based ʻIkenākea Development, said he supported Senate Bill 1170 because the housing credits could be used in financing the capital required to build the partnership’s projects.ʻIkenākea Development is beginning to develop the affordable housing project at Hale O Pi’ikea in Kihei.
Lastly, Senate Bill 2066, offers another avenue for home builders to use the state 201H-38 process for moderate income residents and fast-tracks permitting and approvals.
We strongly believe we need all tools in the toolbox and out of the box thinking to chip away at our deficit and get housing units built for our residents, which is why we testified on and largely supported these bills during the process. We look forward to seeing the positive benefits these bills have on our housing crisis.