Maui committee backs first reading of ordinance limiting kitchenettes and wet bars, adds parking requirement

The Disaster Recovery, International Affairs and Planning Committee of the Maui County Council on May 14 advanced Bill 104-2024 on first reading after substituting a CD1 version and adopting two amendment summary forms. The ordinance would amend chapters 19.04, 19.08 and 19.29 of the Maui County Code to define and limit kitchenettes and wet bars, add a parking requirement for dwelling units with kitchenettes, and prohibit certain installations in some districts.

Under the substituted and amended CD1, the committee adopted several substantive clarifications and restrictions: the definition of “kitchenette” was tightened to require that it be internally accessible via an enclosed living area, to limit refrigerator size and appliances, to prohibit gas appliances, and to prohibit kitchenettes in accessory dwelling units. The amendment also reduced the number of permitted kitchenettes and wet bars on Maui and Lāna‘i to one per principal dwelling unit (the committee settled on language permitting “one kitchenette and one wet bar” phrasing to be read as allowing either or both), and it excludes kitchenettes on Moloka‘i while allowing wet bars on Moloka‘i under the existing definition. The CD1 substitution also removed a proposed requirement that kitchenette units be occupied on a long-term residential basis.

Planning staff and bill drafters said the additional requirement of one off-street parking space per kitchenette is intended to address on-site parking as housing units move toward configurations that include accessory living spaces. A planning representative (identified in the record as Mr. Hart) explained how the kitchenette parking requirement would operate alongside a separate proposal to increase parking by bedroom: if both measures apply, the kitchenette would trigger an additional stall on top of any bedroom-based requirement. The Department of Planning requested some of the definition changes; Fire and Public Safety requested the prohibition on gas appliances.

Council members discussed enforcement and practical effects. Member Keani Rollins Fernandez and others voiced concern about how rules will be enforced and noted the high cost of rebuilding after the 2023 wildfires (commenters referenced rebuilding pressures in West Maui). Member Charlie and others said the ordinance is intended to provide oversight and safety where informal or unpermitted alterations are already occurring. Committee Chair Tamara Paulton and staff confirmed an identified code-number correction would be handled as a non-substantive renumbering.

Procedural actions: Chair Tamara Paulton moved to recommend Bill 104-2024 for first reading; Member Yukile Sugimura moved and Chair Alice Lee seconded substitution of the proposed CD1 dated Nov. 14, 2024. The committee then approved two amendment summary forms: the March ASF that (among other things) added the internal-accessibility phrase, prohibited gas appliances, and prohibited kitchenettes in accessory dwelling units; and a May ASF by Chair Paulton that reduced the allowed number of kitchenettes and wet bars from two to one in county residential and rural districts for Maui and Lāna‘i and removed kitchenettes and wet bars as permitted uses in accessory dwelling units in those rural districts. Members accepted a friendly wording change—staff advised against “and/or,” and the committee adopted staff-preferred phrasing allowing one kitchenette and one wet bar (understood to permit either one alone or both).

Final committee votes occurred after amendment and substitution. The committee recorded a 7-0 vote in favor of the main motion as amended; two members were recorded as excused for the final vote. The transcript identifies Gabe Johnson as excused and references a second excused member whose name was not clearly transcribed. The committee’s action sends the substituted and amended Bill 104-2024 forward for first reading by the full council unless the bill is filed or further revised.

The committee and staff noted the ordinance intersects with Act 39 (2024) and with a separate county measure discussed previously regarding parking by bedroom; staff said the judiciary, not the attorney general, would likely resolve legal disputes about county compliance with the state act if litigation occurred.