Will Front Street become just a fond memory?

by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D., President / CEO, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii

I can still picture Front Street, Lahaina. I miss the charm of its historic buildings as well as its sense of community.

I know that I’m not alone in wanting to see a rebuilt Lahaina that evokes the same spirit of the one that was so tragically destroyed.

State and county policymakers have been grappling for the past year over what to do about the rebuilding of Lahaina. But for me and many others, the answer is simple: Let the people who have lost their properties and are bravely committed to rebuilding do just that — and enable them to do it quickly.

Remove the many regulatory barriers and delays that make building in Hawaii, and especially in Maui County, a long, expensive process. Once the area is clear and safe, let the people of Lahaina rebuild what was there before without having to wait months for costly approvals and permissions.

According to Front Street Recovery, a group formed recently by landowners of commercial properties on Front Street, 834 businesses were destroyed by the August 2023 fires. And that doesn’t mean just physical structures, but commercial vehicles, furniture, food, inventory and more.

The destruction of so many businesses also means about 7,000 jobs disappeared. Many people lost their homes, vehicles, properties and jobs all in one terrible day.

Facing such loss and a great deal of economic uncertainty as well, more than 4,000 Lahaina residents have moved away from Maui — another loss that the Maui community has to cope with.

I worry that If we get too entangled in strategic plans and arguments over what should be done, Front Street might never be rebuilt — or that whatever does get rebuilt will be a shadow of what it once was. Too much time will have passed; too many people will have given up and moved away.

The good news is that the clean-up from the fires is nearly done, so property owners in the area can finally focus on moving ahead with their rebuilding plans.

Unfortunately, complying with current county regulations and paying all the required fees will add time and cost to their efforts — possibly too much time and cost.

That’s why it is important for lawmakers to expedite the process for these businesses and landowners to rebuild as soon as possible, whether through emergency proclamations or by streamlining state and county laws.

Specific actions could include waiving certain building and special management area permits and fees, and allowing buildings that didn’t conform to the current zoning codes at the time they were destroyed to be rebuilt as they were.

I’m happy to say that Maui County Council members seem to be looking favorably toward ideas such as these.

Now they should pick up the pace in adopting them, lest the Front Street we all loved remains but a fond memory.

E hana kākou! (Let's work together!)