Paia, HI

Maui County enforces residential swimming pool barrier rules through the 2018 Hawaii State Building Code and the 2018 Hawaii State Residential Code, both adopted in Maui County Code Title 16 (Chapters 16.26C and 16.08A). Pools, spas, and hot tubs require a barrier at least 48 inches high with openings that will not pass a 4-inch sphere and gates that are self-closing and self-latching. Public/semi-public pools are separately regulated by the Hawaii Department of Health under HAR Chapter 11-10, which requires a 4-foot enclosing fence. Compliance is verified at final inspection by Maui County Department of Public Works, Development Services Administration.

Maui County (Maui, Molokai, Lanai) follows Hawaii's strict statewide Fireworks Control Law (HRS Chapter 132D). Aerial fireworks, mortars, bottle rockets, and Roman candles are illegal statewide. Consumer fireworks (fountains, sparklers) require a $25 Fireworks-Use Permit from the Maui Fire Prevention Bureau for cultural events on non-holiday dates. Firecrackers (up to 5,000 per permit, $25) are legal only on New Year's Eve, Chinese New Year, and July 4th. After the 2023 Lahaina wildfire, enforcement and 2025 Act 243 elevated penalties significantly.

Maui County treats what most jurisdictions call ADUs as 'accessory dwellings' (commonly called ohana units) under Title 19 of the Maui County Code, Chapter 19.35. One accessory dwelling is allowed on residential lots under 7,500 square feet, and up to two accessory dwellings are allowed on lots of 7,500 square feet or larger, with the maximum size of each unit scaled to net lot area (from 500 sf on small lots up to 1,200 sf on lots of 87,120 sf or more). Accessory dwellings are permitted in residential and rural zoning districts but cannot be used as short-term rentals, transient vacation rentals, or bed-and-breakfast homes. Hawaii Act 39 (Session Laws of Hawaii 2024) created HRS 46-4.8 and requires Maui County to amend its ordinances by December 31, 2026 to allow at least two accessory dwellings on every residentially zoned lot.

Maui County is a coastal NFIP community administered by the Department of Public Works Engineering Division under Maui County Code Chapter 16.29 (Flood Hazard Areas), which was relocated from former Chapter 19.62 by 2023 ordinance. The county participates in FEMA's Community Rating System as a Class 7 community, providing a 15% flood insurance premium discount. Development in mapped FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas along Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and Kahoolawe coastlines, streams, and tsunami-vulnerable shorelines requires a Flood Development Permit. Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 205A Coastal Zone Management overlays additional Special Management Area review for shoreline parcels, and post-Lahaina recovery rules in the West Maui burn zone now factor a projected 3.2-foot sea level rise into the erosion hazard line.