Maui County · issues
Civic issues
Topics getting the most attention in Maui County public meetings, ranked by how frequently they come up.
Notice to owners of redesignated parcels (6850 Makena Road)
The Makena Golf and Beach Club's representative asked for fixes: allow stormwater retention basins in gulches, field-verify gulch map lines, align affordable-housing policies with HUD rules, and correct the Makena Landing 'government facility' listing.
Māʻalaea Triangle zoning cleanup
A Maalaea condo owner asked the plan to treat Maalaea as its historic mixed-use harbor area rather than a residential extension of Kihei, noting most complexes sit in the sea-level-rise exposure zone with no town infrastructure.
Enforceability of community plan language
Chair Alice Lee raised a legal question suggesting the county's one-year limit on community plan amendments may only apply to private applicants — not the Council itself — potentially opening a more flexible path for post-adoption fixes.
One-year plan amendment restriction may not bind the Council
Chair Alice Lee raised a legal question suggesting the county's one-year limit on community plan amendments may only apply to private applicants — not the Council itself — potentially opening a more flexible path for post-adoption fixes.
Maalaea land-use designation
A Maalaea condo owner asked the plan to treat Maalaea as its historic mixed-use harbor area rather than a residential extension of Kihei, noting most complexes sit in the sea-level-rise exposure zone with no town infrastructure.
Zoning conditions transparency for property buyers
Council Member Paltin flagged that conditions attached to rezonings are hard for new planners and buyers to find — they're buried in ordinances, not on the real property tax zoning maps. The department pointed to the land-use designation form as the current workaround and said a TMK-to-ordinance lookup could be a future IT project.
Airport noise and compatibility of residential uses
The Wailuku-Kahului Community Plan discourages residential uses within the 60 LDN aircraft noise contour, and opponents warned of health impacts from day-and-night noise. The developer says buildings will be designed with air conditioning, shading, and noise-buffering landscaping.
Bilingual government and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi in county agendas
A new agenda format separated the Hawaiian and English versions, drawing complaints from some readers and strong pushback from educators who say the language must stay front and center. The committee informally agreed to try printing both languages side by side.
2025 General Plan implementation progress
The Planning Department's annual report says 78% of 1,261 General Plan actions are complete, ongoing, or in progress — but members pressed on whether 'in progress' means anything, whether a dashboard or performance metrics are possible, and whether community plans actually shape decisions or just gather dust.
Agricultural district lot creation at 201 Heʻaheʻa Place, Wailuku
A family wants to split off more lots on ag-zoned land in Wailuku than county rules normally allow, so their relatives can build there. It's a small-scale exception, but it touches on how strictly Maui protects its limited agricultural land.