After Maui wildfire, Hawaii struggles to adopt new building codes
By Peter Fabris, Contributing Editor
In the wake of the wildfires that devastated part of Maui in July 2023, Gov. Josh Green issued an emergency proclamation to postpone adoption of new building codes for fear of worsening a critical housing shortage. The new code would make housing development costlier while residents are in dire need of new housing, the reasoning goes.
The governor’s action has sparked a debate about whether the state should slow the cycle of building codes adoption. The governor’s stance is to skip the 2021 code, which Hawaii’s counties have not yet adopted, and fast track adoption of the 2024 code.
Representatives of the construction industry say the three-year cycle is too fast and builders are having a tough time keeping up with it. “Opinions differ on how to strike a balance between ensuring public safety and keeping codes updated while streamlining housing development,” according to a report in Honolulu Civil Beat.
AIA Hawaii president Reid Mizue says skipping code cycles would be “disastrous” for the state in light of recent natural disasters on the mainland and the 2023 Maui fires. An ICC representative noted that failing to adopt the 2021 code would put the state behind in developing safe guidelines for incorporating solar panels, batteries, and energy storage systems into the built environment.