The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Maui Chapter supports an expedited permitting process for the Lahaina rebuild. However, we are concerned with the lack of communication and consultation with local professionals who understand the complexity of the existing permitting process. Repeatedly we have offered our volunteer services and requested to be involved and provide feedback to any future permitting process but have been repeatedly ignored. Our concern is that the county does not have an architect on staff and or the expertise to appropriately provide professional guidance for decision-making in regards to the permitting process. The AIA has a National Disaster Response Team that has experience providing assistance to local governments in every natural disaster in the last 70 years including disasters such as what we have experienced. Any future expedited permitting should be provided by a third party that has experience with this type of process such as jurisdictions like Santa Rosa California. The county must subcontract the entire process due to the fact that the county is currently extremely understaffed and the backlog of permits before the fire is overwhelming and inefficient and has contributed greatly to our housing crisis that existed before the fire. By allowing a 3rd party to provide all the permitting services necessary it would allow the county to focus on the existing permit backlog for areas outside of the fire-affected areas. We know that the county means well but with 800 open positions they do not have the bandwidth and staffing to provide the expediteing service that the residents of Lahaina deserve and desperately need. The fact that the AIA Maui has not been consulted attests to the fact that they do not have the bandwidth or expertise nor a comprehensive understanding of the permitting process as it is. We will continue to request that the county accept and incorporate the expertise of local professionals who are not just experts in the subject matter but also have been greatly affected by the fire and have years of experience working in Lahaina. The stakes are too high and our community deserves and demands that this process be successful and excuses such as lack of staffing are not acceptable. Mahalo for the opportunity to participate in the conversation.
Please help the displaced Lahaina residents with some kind of expedited permit process. Some want to make changes, please do not create a system that hinders us from building back better. We may have a slight floor plan change, maybe move a wall a few feet or make changes that just make sense in 2024 that was not thought of when the buildings were originally built. With no history remaining, perhaps reevaluate if Lahaina is really, in 2024, a historic district and all of the permitting complications. We also have the oceanfront setback that should be respected. Allowing a building to be built right back where it was, and subject to ocean rise, does not make any sense. Maybe all of the Makai side of Front street should be a big park/memorial. We hope to see an efficient and accommodating permitting process put in place. Maybe also consider having Solar as an exempted feature for HOAs. Much like an HOA cannot prevent you from installing an antennae, if we want to install solar shingles that do not "Conform" with aesthetic issues the HOA has, you can prevent the HOA from allowing us to install any state or county approved solar solution. We know there are power issues on Maui. Allow us to incorporate solar to be better able to feed back into the West Maui electric. How awesome would it be if West Maui could be energy independent.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Maui Chapter supports an expedited permitting process for the Lahaina rebuild. However, we are concerned with the lack of communication and consultation with local professionals who understand the complexity of the existing permitting process. Repeatedly we have offered our volunteer services and requested to be involved and provide feedback to any future permitting process but have been repeatedly ignored. Our concern is that the county does not have an architect on staff and or the expertise to appropriately provide professional guidance for decision-making in regards to the permitting process. The AIA has a National Disaster Response Team that has experience providing assistance to local governments in every natural disaster in the last 70 years including disasters such as what we have experienced. Any future expedited permitting should be provided by a third party that has experience with this type of process such as jurisdictions like Santa Rosa California. The county must subcontract the entire process due to the fact that the county is currently extremely understaffed and the backlog of permits before the fire is overwhelming and inefficient and has contributed greatly to our housing crisis that existed before the fire. By allowing a 3rd party to provide all the permitting services necessary it would allow the county to focus on the existing permit backlog for areas outside of the fire-affected areas. We know that the county means well but with 800 open positions they do not have the bandwidth and staffing to provide the expediteing service that the residents of Lahaina deserve and desperately need. The fact that the AIA Maui has not been consulted attests to the fact that they do not have the bandwidth or expertise nor a comprehensive understanding of the permitting process as it is. We will continue to request that the county accept and incorporate the expertise of local professionals who are not just experts in the subject matter but also have been greatly affected by the fire and have years of experience working in Lahaina. The stakes are too high and our community deserves and demands that this process be successful and excuses such as lack of staffing are not acceptable. Mahalo for the opportunity to participate in the conversation.
Please help the displaced Lahaina residents with some kind of expedited permit process. Some want to make changes, please do not create a system that hinders us from building back better. We may have a slight floor plan change, maybe move a wall a few feet or make changes that just make sense in 2024 that was not thought of when the buildings were originally built. With no history remaining, perhaps reevaluate if Lahaina is really, in 2024, a historic district and all of the permitting complications. We also have the oceanfront setback that should be respected. Allowing a building to be built right back where it was, and subject to ocean rise, does not make any sense. Maybe all of the Makai side of Front street should be a big park/memorial. We hope to see an efficient and accommodating permitting process put in place. Maybe also consider having Solar as an exempted feature for HOAs. Much like an HOA cannot prevent you from installing an antennae, if we want to install solar shingles that do not "Conform" with aesthetic issues the HOA has, you can prevent the HOA from allowing us to install any state or county approved solar solution. We know there are power issues on Maui. Allow us to incorporate solar to be better able to feed back into the West Maui electric. How awesome would it be if West Maui could be energy independent.