There’s been a lot of teeth-gnashing over the effects of Senate Bill 3202, a bill to allow for additional housing on residential lots. Much of that pushback arose from the bill’s original language — which would have slashed the minimum size of a residential lot with one home; and opened the door for subdivision of lots so that in some areas, as many as eight dwelling units might be allowed on land previously limited to one single-family home.

The drastic density increase, which counties would have been required to allow so long as other zoning and infrastructure requirements were met, provoked the Honolulu County Council to issue a resolution opposing the measure, and alarmed our editorial board sufficiently to call for shelving SB 3202 until community input could be thoroughly considered.

The Legislature heard those criticisms, and toned down the bill considerably — taking minimum lot sizes off the table, most significantly, but also reducing the number of housing units that counties must allow on a lot, while bolstering county discretion in plotting out neighborhoods where increased density would be allowed. Yes, this may result in some troublesome carve-outs preserving the “character” of some neighborhoods, but it will also allow counties to account for knowledge of community conditions — for example, excluding additional building in a neighborhood already choked with traffic or with inadequate access to schools or services.

SB 3202, in its final form, deletes many strong objections to the bill, and moves Hawaii forward by adding to the options available to produce more desperately needed housing statewide. It is supported by nonprofits and advocacy groups concerned with housing availability, from Hawaii Appleseed to the Grassroot Institute, and by county authorities on Hawaii, Kauai and Maui.

While many Oahu-based lawmakers remain opposed — possibly with the push-back from constituents to earlier drafts still ringing in their ears — SB 3202 now leaves adequate land-use authority with counties to satisfy our objections. The governor, after applying his office’s own due diligence, should lean toward signing it, adding to Hawaii’s options for increasing housing supply.

SB 3202 requires counties to allow at least two accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on residentially zoned lots, with certain exceptions. Throughout Hawaii, at least one ADU is allowed on most residential properties, so this allows for a second, in most cases. Those lots would remain at the minimum size prescribed by each county. Local height and setback rules, as well as requirements for parking, will continue to apply and are not affected by SB 3202.

The final bill gives counties two options in incorporating the law, as they adapt ordinances to comply: Counties may adopt the two-ADUs-per-residential lot rule as a countywide ordinance; or they may rework zoning maps to enable the additional ADUs on certain lots to allow far more discretion. For future developments, the bill prohibits private covenants from restricting owners from adding ADUs to their lots, if county and state laws permit it, or from making these ADUs available as long-term rentals.

Finally, the bill states clearly that decisions on subdivision or consolidation of lots or land parcels within residential urban districts “shall be vested” with the county’s designated land-use officer, making plain the counties are the final gatekeepers.

Reflecting the urgent need to add housing immediately on Maui and Kauai, the bill becomes effective as soon as it’s signed.

Not all objections have been answered. For one, nothing in SB 3202 requires that ADUs be “affordable,” according to federal guidelines. That’s intentional, as it places less restrictions on owners, incentivizing them to build. Nonetheless, studies elsewhere indicate that housing costs for these typically smaller secondary units on a property are often affordable, even without taxpayer funding.

All in all, the bill now on the governor’s desk looks worthy of his signature — and it’s a welcome effort among many to increase housing stock and affordability.