Who gets to live in paradise?
Over the years, suffocating regulations and restrictions have made Hawaii one of the most expensive places to live in the nation. Pushback from environmental groups and NIMBY (not in my backyard) homeowners, along with outdated zoning laws have made affordable housing all but nonexistent on the islands.
But in 2023, things reached a breaking point. Homes in Hawaii had gotten so unaffordable that the governor actually declared a state-of-emergency.
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii decided to take action. They embarked on a year-long campaign to pass reforms to solve Hawaii’s housing challenges in the long term and prevent paradise from becoming out of reach.
Hawaii has some of the most breathtaking land in the world. But according to the Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawaii, Hawaii also has some of the most restrictive land-use laws and homebuilding regulations in the nation. Hawaii has always had strict environmental restrictions—these have protected large swaths of beautiful land. But they only allow 5 percent of the state to be available for homebuilding.
Too little housing supply and high demand has led to the most expensive housing costs in the United States.
In addition to limited land for housing, the zoning for residential land is incredibly restrictive. Almost all residential zoning in Hawaii is for either medium and high-rise apartment buildings or large-lot, single family homes. This has led to a shortage of “middle” housing options like duplexes, triplexes, townhomes, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
These housing options—which are popular all across the country—offer more affordable, high-quality homes for younger Hawaiians or young families.
When Governor Josh Green issued his emergency order over the state’s housing costs, it suspended dozens of laws that were making it more difficult and expensive to build homes.
But emergency orders are temporary, and Hawaiians needed permanent solutions. So, the Grassroot team got to work on policy recommendations making it possible to afford paradise again.
To kick off their housing campaign, the Grassroot team published a study in late 2023 that outlined easy ways to increase the state’s housing supply, all without cost to Hawaii taxpayers.
The report’s main message was simple: If Hawaiians aren’t allowed to build outward into agricultural and conservation land, the only alternative is more homebuilding on residentially zoned land, where housing infrastructure already exists.
This caught the attention of several courageous lawmakers who, using ideas proposed by Grassroot, introduced Senate Bill 3202 and House Bill 2090.
SB3202 would allow Hawaiians to build more ADUs on their properties. The bill would also allow builders to convert single-family-zoned properties to duplexes and triplexes. This would increase the supply of smaller, more affordable homes and increase the total housing supply (bringing down housing costs across the board).
HB2090 would make it easier for homebuilders to convert office and other commercial buildings into residences and encourage mixed-use development. This would create more housing and revitalize Hawaii’s downtown areas that were devastated by the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Opponents tried to convince lawmakers to kill the bills with doomsday scenarios.
But the Grassroot team was ready to inform policymakers and residents about the benefits of these reforms .
To get HB2090 and SB3203 to the finish line, the Grassroot team sent all Hawaii legislators a letter supporting reform signed by local groups such as Housing Hawaii’s Future, Hawaii YIMBY, Hawaii Zoning Atlas, AARP, the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce, all the county chambers of commerce, the Kauai and Hawaii Habitat for Humanity chapters, and multiple well-respected local businesses. Grassroot also created a website that outlined the basics of the bills, answered many frequently asked questions, and featured an animated explainer video that showed what neighborhoods might look like if the proposed legislative changes were enacted.
To show legislators that real Hawaiians wanted these reforms, the Grassroot team recruited almost 700 supporters to make their voices heard and encourage lawmakers to take action.
And finally, Grassroot conducted hundreds of meetings with policymakers and administrators, engaged with thousands of supporters via Instagram to regularly provide them with updated information, and spoke regularly with reporters, radio hosts and other media.
In the end, all of Grassroot’s work paid off. Legislators passed both reforms and the Grassroot staff proudly attended the bill-signing ceremony. The national housing group, The Welcoming Neighbors Network, hailed the bills as the country’s first major pro-housing legislation passed in 2024.
Hawaii’s beauty will always be unmatched. And now, thanks to the Grassroot Institute, that beauty will not be restricted to the rich or connected. Thanks to Grassroot, paradise can be home to everyone.
