Officials in Hawaii want to speed up the approval of building permits by launching a new center in the coming month, aiming to aid Maui's recovery from last year's fatal wildfires.
Efforts to recover in Maui County, especially in Lahaina, have been slowed down by delays in permit processing, following the near destruction of the entire town and $5.5 billion in damage from last year's fires, which also caused the death of nearly 100 individuals.
Keanu Lau Hee, a county executive assistant, recently announced the opening of a County Expedited Permitting Center in April. The center will support private developers with five projects to construct over 500 housing units in the area and speed up processing times in an area known for lengthy waits. This comes as a report from the University of Hawaii found that the median wait time for a construction permit to build a multifamily project in the state over the last five years was 400 days.The Aug. 8 wildfire destroyed more than 2,000 buildings and forced 4,500 people out of Lahaina. Lau Hee noted that the vast majority, 87 percent, of those who lost their homes were renters, while the rest were homeowners. It was predicted at the time that the recovery would take up to a year and could cost over $1 billion..
The county wants to help homeowners rebuild, as their properties were damaged and contaminated with toxic debris that she hopes will be cleared by next year.
The news comes as around 3,800 residents are still residing in hotels following the fires.
“Our goal is to create opportunities for you folks to start rebuilding on your properties,” she said, according to AP. estimated The Federal Emergency Management Agency has also been working to construct temporary housing units.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hawaiian officials are pushing to speed up the processing of building permits by opening a new center next month, in hopes it will help will Maui’s recovery from last year’s deadly wildfires. Recovery efforts in Maui County, specifically in the town of Lahaina, have been impeded by permit processing delays — after last year’s fires…
The news comes as roughly 3,800 residents are still living in hotels following the fires.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has also worked to build temporary housing units.
