OURchitecture

Oct 26, 2010

Accessory Dwellings on Maui

Maui County ordinance (Chap 19.35) allows Accessory Dwellings. Key provisions:
  1. ADU is subject to a max size limit based on lot size
  2. ADU must have a separate entry
  3. ADU must be detached from main house (interior connection not allowed)
  4. Parking: only 1 additional stall required
  5. ADU may have a separate driveway from main house 
  6. NOTE: the dates on the footnotes are 1982, when Ohana units were first adopted. It appears that Maui has renamed "Ohana Dwelling Units" into "Accessory Dwellings Units". And most importantly, occupancy is not restricted to family.
  7. An ADU on Maui can be CPR'd and sold separately from the main house (verify). 
  8. The ordinance does not specify an owner-occupant requirement in either the main house or the accessory dwelling (verify).

Other surprises from Maui:
 
  • Maui Island Housing Issue Paper: a Discussion Paper for the Maui County General Plan Update (Dec 2006) by John M. Knox and Assoc., Inc:
    • Community Land Trusts
      Beginning on pg 101 of the report: an excellent description of a housing strategy to provide permanent affordability.
    • One criticism of the current affordable housing model is that while they help the initial Buyer afford a home, that unit is often removed from the inventory of affordable homes when that 1st Buyer sells, taking with them, all the public subsidies.
    • Community Land Trusts address the need to keep publicly subsidized affordable housing permanently affordable.
    • The report adds: "There is a parallel between the programs of the Department of Hawaiian Homes Lands and the community land trusts in that ownership of the land remains with the Department or the trust, which in turn leases the land to the owner of the improvement. There is a difference, however, in the amount of the lease rent, the Department charging a dollar per year and the trusts, in almost every instance, charging a much higher land lease."
  •  
  • 2030 Maui General Plan (countywide)
    • Objective: (pg 57 of the Plan)
    • 1) Reduce the affordable housing deficit for residents.
      • Policy: Promote the use of the community land trust model and other land-lease and land-financing options.
    • 2) Increase the mix of housing types in towns and neighborhoods to promote sustainable land use planning, expand consumer choice, and protect the County’s rural and smalltown character.
      • Policy: Seek innovative ways to develop `ohana cottages and accessory-dwelling units as affordable housing.