Maui County · issues
Civic issues
Topics getting the most attention in Maui County public meetings, ranked by how frequently they come up.
Lānaʻi Project District 2 (Kōʻele) zoning change (Bills 24 and 25, 2024)
The committee added a sunset to the water-reporting condition: five years of quarterly reports, then annual reports or until a Phase 2 approval, whichever comes first. Water accountability on Lānaʻi stays on the books but won't run forever.
Infrastructure Priority for 100% Affordable and Workforce Housing
New rules push affordable and workforce housing near jobs, schools and transit, spread across South Maui's neighborhoods (minus conservation Sub-Area 6), and encourage developers of 10+ unit projects to face local community associations first. A fight over banning affordable-housing 'credits' was punted to a countywide code change.
Piilani Promenade land-use conflict with LUC order
The committee wrestled with whether to keep an 80/20 residential/commercial policy for Piilani Promenade when a Land Use Commission decision and order currently bars residential use there. Corp counsel flagged it as odd to mandate uses the LUC has prohibited; members discussed 'if-then' language in case the landowner goes back to the LUC, plus a lingering ~$20 million subdivision bond for the Kaonoulu extension road.
North Kīhei Mauka residential designation
Haleakalā and Kaonoulu Ranches are defending the plan's North Kīhei Mauka Residential area against arguments it adds too many units. The ranches say they're finalizing easements for a north-south road corridor and asked that flood-mitigation work mauka be documented for the committee.
Kīpūola Kauhale — Maui's first kauhale community
After a deep cultural discussion with Native Hawaiian CPAC members, the committee agreed to build at least one pu'uhonua or culturally infused safe low-barrier shelter — and tripled the cost estimate to $30,000 per unit. The term was kept deliberately broad to avoid repeating the divisiveness around Pu'uhonua o Nēnē.
Workforce housing policies vs. Chapter 2.96 conflict
Attorney Kiola Whitaker warned that policies 2.2.18, 2.2.19 and 2.2.26 (requiring housing location 'to the extent practicable' and a genealogical-ties preference) could conflict with recorded workforce housing agreements under Chapter 2.96, delaying housing. Housing Director Remy Mitchell agreed and endorsed moving the preference language into the code. The committee marked all three policies for revisit.
Workforce housing policy conflicts with Chapter 2.96
Housing agreements attorney Keola Whitaker warned that requiring community-plan compliance at discretionary permitting could void recorded workforce housing agreements; Housing Director Mitchell agreed 'encourage' and moving the genealogical-ties preference to the County Code would be safer, and the committee marked the policies for revisit.
Growth concurrency and impact fees
Multiple testifiers said the plan lets development outrun infrastructure — roads, water, wastewater, schools. They want concurrency requirements restored and impact fees so luxury growth for off-island buyers stops being subsidized by local taxpayers.
Pāʻia Sugar Mill Redevelopment — Community Plan Amendment and Change in Zoning
The old mill site could become a light-industrial village with manufacturing jobs, workforce housing, food processing and community event space. The committee shaped conditions on water, evacuation, chain stores and open space before sending it to the full Council.
First-time homebuyer program reach
Only 83 of a target 120 shopping letters have gone out from the $92.5 million first-time homebuyer program, out of 2,900 applicants. Members asked how to expand it — maybe through the housing department or a nonprofit — and the administration promised an assessment after the first 120 letters.
Huey Road subdivision fire hydrant and deferral agreement controversy
The County is spending up to $1 million defending itself against whistleblower Christopher Salem, and testifiers say the real problem is a developer that never finished required infrastructure — including a fire hydrant — at the Hui Road subdivision. One testifier demanded a Council investigation before more public money is spent.
Kamehameha Schools Kuʻia land negotiations for housing and evacuation routes
The County is in confidential talks with Kamehameha Schools about buying adjacent land in Kuʻia to add housing, fire resiliency and evacuation routes near the Waineʻe purchase. The school site is also returning to that area. Details were off-limits in open session due to an NDA.
Low-income housing rent increases (LIHTC/HHFDC)
Council Member Paltin raised an urgent side issue: low-income tenants in LIHTC projects using HHFDC rent schedules instead of the county's HUD schedule face $200–$300 monthly rent increases, hitting elderly and fixed-income residents hardest, including fire-affected Lahaina households.
Leasehold housing affordability criteria
The committee fought over whether only 100%-leasehold properties should get county-initiated rezoning referrals. The 100% criterion failed 4-5, keeping mixed-leasehold buildings like Lauloa Mā'alaea on the list — despite arguments that leasehold units are the most affordable and most likely to return to local housing.
Long-term housing supply and owner-occupancy decline in condo complexes
Testifiers documented sharp drops in owner occupancy at complexes like Kaanapali Royal (54% to 9% since 2015) and Hale Ono Loa (70% to 3%), arguing these were once affordable housing. Council Member Cook reported Kihei businesses struggling without local residents, and cash buyers from the mainland dominating sales.
Affordable housing through zoning reform
Council members asked whether the rewrite could help housing affordability — through smaller minimum lot sizes, more housing types like missing-middle units, and possibly a workforce-housing zone. The consultant confirmed those ideas will be explored, mainly in module four's residential districts.
Bill 77: Affordable Housing Fund for houseless residents
Bill 77 would require part of the county's Affordable Housing Fund go toward housing the houseless population. Members want more data on shelter-bed gaps and program design before committing funds.
Ho'onani Village mixed-use development land-use amendments
A 163.443-acre former sugarcane parcel near Pulehu Road could become a mixed-use village with roughly 1,600 workforce housing units plus retail, industrial, and possibly hotel uses. The committee sent the growth-boundary and community-plan bills to full council 5-1, but the zoning bill waits on the state Land Use Commission.
Housing crisis and out-migration
Testimony and member discussion centered on Maui's severe housing shortage driving local families to leave the island. Supporters argued the project is a rare large-scale chance to build workforce housing now rather than waiting years more for studies.
Affordable rentals in perpetuity (PARIS program)
Homestead CDC asked for $3 million to buy more permanently affordable rentals, add ADUs and rooftop solar — seven of nine existing units house Maui wildfire households. The committee approved the money as a Housing Department grant, not from the Affordable Housing Fund.
Affordable Housing Fund priorities and the Pa'a program
Housing Director Mitchell defended the department's competitive RFP process after Batangan voiced frustration that nearly the entire Affordable Housing Fund was committed, leaving nothing for the Pa'a permanently affordable rental program co-founded by former Member Kama.
Hana affordable homeownership project
Habitat for Humanity asked the committee to protect the full $6.595 million for its Hana subdivision — the first affordable homeownership project there in decades.
Cove Beach Village acquisition in Kihei
The county may buy a fully entitled 32-unit Kihei apartment project at 82 Konani Road to fast-track affordable housing — the committee bonded the $2.5 million appraised land value while directing Housing to negotiate the rest.
Habitat for Humanity Hamoa affordable housing project
Habitat for Humanity's long-awaited 25-unit affordable subdivision in Hana town is finally in the mayor's FY27 budget at $6.595 million to buy the 7.2-acre discounted land. Streets and water meters are in; they're just waiting on Hawaiian Electric poles — and they warn the county's 330-day permitting timeline could delay groundbreaking by a year.
Workforce housing tax exemption (Bill 37)
Buyers of approved affordable workforce homes have been getting taxed at the high non-owner-occupied rate because they miss exemption deadlines. The bill to fix it wasn't ready, so it went to the housing committee — but Chair Lee says the problem 'has to be done' one way or another.
Workforce housing purchase priority and sale tracking
Bill 14 locks in who gets first shot at buying workforce housing units — local residents on the wait list, then the County, then nonresidents — and brings back paperwork that verifies units actually sell to eligible buyers. Councilmember Rawlins-Fernandez also raised the bigger issue: the county still can't fully track who ends up in these units or whether they stay affordable after deed restrictions expire.
Eviction mediation transition from Act 202 to Act 278
The state's eviction mediation program kept most at-risk households housed — 80% of mediated cases settled — but the new Act 278 pilot cuts the tenant response window from 15 to 10 days starting February 5, 2026, and provides no extra funding for mediation centers.
Lanai Affordable Housing Ground Lease
The council approved a ground lease for the Lanai 21H project — about 372 affordable units — helping the developer meet a February HHFDC funding deadline.