Maui County · issues
Civic issues
Topics getting the most attention in Maui County public meetings, ranked by how frequently they come up.
Keokea Industrial urban growth boundary expansion (North Kihei)
Haleakala Ranch and Kaonoulu Ranch propose a large phased residential development adjacent to Kulanihakoi High School, with three village hubs. Supporters call it logical, walkable growth; critics fear promises will vanish once land changes hands.
South Maui Community Plan update (Bill 108)
The 20-year plan replacing the 1996 Kihei-Makena plan would guide where and how South Maui grows — housing, transportation, watershed management, and cultural site protection. Residents fear it locks in growth the roads, water system, and evacuation routes can't support.
Maui Research & Technology Park zoning amendments (Bill 141, 2026)
Bill 141 shifts commercial acreage to residential in the Kihei tech park so homes are less dense, while keeping the 1,250-unit cap. Residents watching Kihei growth will see the same number of homes spread over more land, and slightly less commercial build-out.
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.
Wailea Golf Plan dispute
The draft plan contains an earlier owner-proposed Wailea Golf plan that would leave one golf course and open the Blue Course to development. The Wailea Community Association and condo owners want the committee to substitute a negotiated compromise that keeps the Blue and Gold courses and allows development only on the Emerald Course.
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.
Accessory Dwelling Size Standards (Bill 27, 2026)
The committee struck a plan action item because recent county laws already allow kitchenettes and two ADUs per residential property. Members flagged that many residents — and even building inspectors — don't know these changes exist yet.
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.
Protecting kuleana access, trails, and cultural resources
Testimony says burials exist on the property but weren't included in the 2010 archaeological survey. Officials say monitoring and, if needed, rerouting the waterline could avoid disturbing iwi kūpuna.
Development in flood zones and wetlands
Testifiers Albert Perez and Johann Lall urged the committee to stop approving housing in flood zones, especially affordable housing, since those residents can least afford flood losses. The discussion shaped policies on buffers and mauka-to-makai watershed planning.
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.
CPAC policies removed by the Planning Commission
Former councilmember Kelly King and others asked the committee to restore the community-written CPAC version of the plan, saying infrastructure-first requirements and funding-study mandates were stripped out before transmittal.
H-3/H-4 Hotel District Zoning Referral
The committee is deciding which A-1/A-2 apartment-zoned condo properties can be rezoned to Hotel so their short-term rental uses continue after Bill 9 phases out TVRs in apartment districts. Each unit kept in TVR use is a unit not returned to the long-term housing stock.
Hotel rezoning of apartment-district TVR properties (Bill 9 exemptions)
Two resolutions would refer bills to the Planning Commission to let apartment-zoned short-term rental properties switch to hotel zoning and keep operating as visitor accommodations instead of returning to long-term housing. Most testifiers called this an unraveling of Bill 9 during a housing crisis; owners of flood- and erosion-exposed buildings pushed to be exempted. The committee adopted criteria 5-4 and put off any decision to September 9.
Short-term rental zoning in the Sea Level Rise Exposure Area
Several testifiers warned that many affected buildings are oceanfront, in sea-level-rise impact zones and flood zones, with high insurance costs. One urged a sunset provision reverting vulnerable shoreline parcels to open space when erosion thresholds are hit.
Rezoning 10 Walaka Street and Makai Sunset Inn (Res. 26-130)
The County is deciding which shoreline and near-shore condo properties get rezoned to Hotel districts so they can keep operating as short-term rentals instead of phasing into long-term housing under Bill 9. It's a tug-of-war between preserving tourism revenue and jobs versus adding units to the local housing supply.
Lahaina United Methodist Church rezoning (Bill 94, 2026)
The church lost its buildings in the August 2023 fires and needs a rezone from residential to public/quasi-public to rebuild the church and preschool. Members also discussed keeping existing dwellings on the property and a possible lot consolidation costing $5,000-$10,000.
Title 19 zoning code rewrite
Maui County's zoning code dates to 1960 and has been patched so many times it's confusing and contradictory. The rewrite aims to make it simpler, more visual, better aligned with community plans, and friendlier for housing affordability — but it's a multi-year effort working through three planning commissions and the council in modules.
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.