How rigid land-use rules are holding back wildfire recovery in Lahaina

(The following commentary was first published July 15, 2026, in The Washington Post under the headline “Maui went from wildfires to purgatory. Here’s why it struggles to rebuild.”)

by Jonathan Helton, Grassroot Institute 

Nearly three years after wildfires engulfed Lahaina, Hawaii, rebuilding continues to move at a glacial pace. The blazes claimed more than 100 lives and left thousands of people without homes and livelihoods. More than 2,200 structures were destroyed.

So far, only 220 houses have been rebuilt. More construction is underway, but vacant lots still haunt the once-vibrant town. Not a single business destroyed in the fires has been rebuilt, and just two commercial permits have been issued. Well-meaning state and county land-use, zoning, permitting and historic-preservation laws — passed over decades — have caused reconstruction to move at a crawl.

Historic-preservation concerns in particular have dominated Hawaii’s land-use rules. Lahaina was the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom for more than two decades in the 1800s. In 1962, part of the town was designated a national historic landmark, and Maui County also established its own historic zones, two of which cover parts of Lahaina. To build in any of the county’s historic districts, property owners must receive approval from the volunteer Cultural Resources Commission — a body plagued by vacancies that often fails to make a quorum.

Properties in Lahaina also fall under the jurisdiction of the State Historic Preservation Division, which in 1976 was tasked with mitigating the effects of new construction on historic sites. That same year, to curb development, the state created the Land Use Commission and classified Hawaii lands as urban, rural, agricultural or set aside for conservation. High-density homes and businesses are allowed only in urban areas, which make up less than 5 percent of state land. The West Maui Community Plan followed in 1982, establishing even more rigid land-use rules.

Lahaina’s recovery has also been slowed by more common regulations layered on top of the historic-preservation rules. Maui County enacted its first zoning ordinance in 1960, and its code now includes rules on minimum lot sizes, building heights, mandated parking and other zoning elements that are a headache for home builders and businesses.

The county code was eventually updated to exclude existing nonconforming structures and uses. But there was no plan for what might happen if residents needed to rebuild after a disaster. In August 2023, when the Lahaina fires took place, rebuilding such structures would have required costly permits and an affirmative vote from the island’s planning commission. Nineteen months after the fire, the city council passed legislation that allowed residents to restore their homes and businesses to pre-wildfire conditions.

These regulations just scratch the surface. Federal flood-zone rules, state environmental laws and county-level infrastructure requirements for new construction add more hurdles for residents looking to rebuild their lives.

This regulatory layer cake does not work well in normal times. Housing projects can take up to seven years to be approved. Hawaii has some of the country’s strictest barriers to building new housing, which has driven the median price of a single-family home above $1 million in three of its four counties. But in the aftermath of a disaster like the wildfires, these rules are devastating for builders and homeowners trying to get back on their feet.

Before the fires, only a few laws included exemptions for rebuilding or low-impact projects. Because of state and county officials’ lack of foresight, commercial and multifamily rebuilds in Lahaina have spent years in permitting purgatory.

State lawmakers have tried to cut through the most damaging regulatory strictures with piecemeal waivers and emergency declarations. Within a year of the fires, Maui County hired outside consultants to expedite reviews of rebuilding permits. Gov. Josh Green (D) and Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen have addressed some of the permitting barriers through emergency proclamations. The state legislature and Maui County Council eventually approved legislation to waive or amend certain laws, such as the code regarding nonconforming buildings. But these efforts are insufficient. Rebuilding in the former whaling town still lags because of the sheer volume of regulations. For every burdensome rule the state or county waives, there’s another layer to peel back.

The officials who put these rules in place could be forgiven for not writing flexibility into the statutes before they were passed. Predicting the future — and accounting for it in the law — isn’t easy. Then again, hurricanes, floods, wildfires and volcanic eruptions are not unexpected in Hawaii.

Lahaina’s recovery didn’t have to be so slow and painful. After Hurricane Iniki rampaged across the island of Kauai in 1992, county officials there quickly waived many laws similar to those delaying Lahaina’s recovery. It’s a shame the 1992 response wasn’t embraced as a model. Now, Lahaina’s residents are left to pick up the pieces — if they can just get the approvals to do so.