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.
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.
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.
Mauka collector road and evacuation route feasibility study
Kihei is essentially a one-road-in, one-road-out community, and testifiers called it a death trap in a fire, tsunami, or flood. The plan emphasizes the North-South Collector Road, but speakers say a real second highway exit is still needed.
Lānaʻi bypass road condition
A decades-old condition required Pūlama to build a bypass road around Lānaʻi City once half the units were occupied — a trigger the downsized project will never hit. The committee split 5-4 on deleting it, with members arguing over safety, evacuation, and who should pay for infrastructure.
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.
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.
Piilani Promenade subdivision bond and drainage questions
Bill 58 would redirect $6 million in leftover bond proceeds to renovations of the 24 North Church Street building for the Prosecuting Attorney in the Wailuku-Kahului Community Plan Area.
HRS Chapter 179D dam and reservoir safety barrier
Member Cook warned that state law makes liability so 'toxic' that detention basins to stop South Maui mud floods aren't being built. The committee agreed to raise it in future legislative lobbying.
Sister-city relationship with Laoag, Philippines
Maui County's newest sister city could bring cultural exchanges, teacher and youth programs, agricultural partnerships, and trade opportunities. Roughly 47,000 Maui residents claim Filipino ancestry, most with Ilocos-region roots, and members proposed a working group to make the relationship tangible.
Fiscal Reserve Fund Proposal
A sharp exchange: Chair Lee and Member Batangan pressed the managing director on whether the administration pads the budget with big carryover savings, noting the emergency fund exists for disasters. Nishita countered that the Council itself has added tens of millions to the budget above the mayor's requests in recent years.
Youth-led Commission on Children and Youth
A Maui High School student testified with 56 signatures for turning the Commission on Children and Youth into a youth-led body, giving young people a standing voice in county decisions. Council Member Johnson voiced support.
Structural reform of county boards and commissions
A messy meeting for the Independent Nomination Board process: Faith Chase's police commission bid failed, East Maui water authority nominees were disqualified over license-area rules, and the chair called for repealing the INB provision.
Real property tax review board under strain
Five unpaid volunteers handle up to a thousand tax appeals a year in seven-hour meetings, denying over 95% of appeals. The commission suggests routing simple appeals through a county desk review first and questions whether adjudication should rest on volunteers at all.
$1.6B CDBG-DR wildfire recovery fund status
Lionel Pascual described falling out of every aid program after his loss-of-use money ran out — making $14,000 too much to qualify for help but not enough to afford rent — and fears homelessness.
Maui County Kokua Fund for emergency donations (Bill 93)
After the 2023 wildfires, over $140 million in donations went largely to an O'ahu-based nonprofit without Council oversight. Chair Lee's Kokua Fund bill would let the County accept emergency donations directly with quarterly reporting, giving the Council a window into where the money goes.
Lobbyist regulation in Maui County
Maui is the only Hawaii county without real lobbyist registration and reporting rules. Bill 100 would require registration, training, reporting, and penalties — with some testifiers pushing back on the $5,000 fine for nonprofits. Deferred pending more questions.
Safe parking pilot program expansion (Bill 133)
Bill 133 would let people living in vehicles use other county-owned parcels, not just parking lots, and drop requirements for licenses, registration and safety checks at a temporary site for folks on Pulehu Road. It passed first reading and goes for final vote Friday — this meeting was the public's chance to weigh in.
Temporary wastewater service for new Central Maui school
The new Central Maui school in Waikapu is set to open in 2031, possibly before the county's new wastewater plant is running. This agreement reserves 14,500 gallons per day of temporary capacity at the existing Wailuku-Kahului facility as a plan B.
Adopt-A-Street litter and stormwater program
Volunteers adopt stretches of road, pick up litter twice a year, and keep trash out of storm drains and the ocean. The county supplies gear and hauls the bags; the program has three groups but capacity for about ten.
Wastewater disinfection concerns at Wailuku-Kahului facility
Testifier Travis Lincoln proposed a novel donation-funded model to accelerate 100% R-1 disinfection at the Kihei and Kahului plants, citing elevated fecal bacteria in UIC reports; Mike Moran pressed for clarity on whether South Maui's injection well water is actually UV-treated given poor water quality at Cove Park.
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.
Restoring Hawaiian place names and history in the plan
Historian Lucienne de Naie warned that big detention basins and developments are planned over poorly-surveyed archaeological sites — repeating past mistakes like the Wailea hotel zone built atop a major burial ground.
Open Space Fund and wildfire fuel reduction
Rawlins-Fernandez wanted the Open Space Fund to pay for regular removal of wildfire fuel hazards, but pulled the proposal herself to avoid crowding the November ballot. She hopes to revive it in a future charter cycle.
Kula (Waiakoa) gym damage and possible total loss
High winds blew off the gym's roof and rain soaked its wooden structure; a structural engineer is evaluating whether it's a total loss, with results in about 60 days. Officials reclassified it out of the parks exclusion so FEMA may help pay, and historic, archaeological and accessibility reviews complicate any rebuild.
Gulch and drainage-way protection policies
Proposed policies would bar new permanent structures in or within 100 feet of gulches and drainageways, but Public Works Director Molina warned the blanket restriction could kill needed flood mitigation and drainage projects. Deferred for more work.
Protection of Wahi Kupuna and cultural resources
The committee approved policies ensuring Native Hawaiian access to kuleana lands, preserving historic roads like the King's Trail with restoration encouraged where practicable, using Ike Kupuna in development design, and supporting a South Maui cultural center and museum.
Honua'ula (Wailea 670) fire station and retention basin overlap
Kay Anderson of Wailea 808 told the committee the Wailea Golf description in the draft plan is outdated — the Maui Planning Commission approved an updated plan in March 2025 that the community hasn't had a chance to review. The committee will need to fix it before final approval.
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.
County acquisition of flood-prone Waipuilani parcels
South Maui has flooded every year since 2021; testifiers described dead soil, choked wetlands, and debris-filled waters, urging the plan to require stormwater systems, gulch protection, and wetland restoration before new development.
North-South Collector Road and eminent domain
Mayer called Piʻilani an eight-to-ten-mile cul-de-sac and estimated 6,800 additional vehicles if all planned units build out; the possible road link to Veterans Highway is a two-lane road with no funding in the plan.
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.
Central Maui base yard industrial expansion with 100-foot gulch buffers
The plan could add roughly 66 acres of industrial land east of Maui Veterans Highway, with open space buffers along Pulehu Gulch. Members liked the 100-foot buffer given industrial runoff risks, and the landowner agreed to it.
Wailea Golf mapping and the Chan proposal
Kay Anderson of Wailea 808 told the committee the Wailea Golf description in the draft plan is outdated — the Maui Planning Commission approved an updated plan in March 2025 that the community hasn't had a chance to review. The committee will need to fix it before final approval.
Reviving the Nāulu Cloud Bridge
Restoration and reforestation work spanning leeward Haleakalā to Kahoʻolawe aims to encourage rainfall for the region. The committee wants to see the work in person, which requires closing the meeting to the public because of unexploded ordnance and access limits on the island.
Deteriorating rain catchment infrastructure on Kahoʻolawe
Two rusted water storage tanks at a rain catchment area can only hold a fraction of the roughly 3.5 million gallons that half-acre collection panels could gather, limiting restoration irrigation. A consultant is needed to assess repairs.
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.
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.
Emergency evacuation routes for South Maui
Testifiers repeatedly called Kihei a one-way-in, one-way-out 'death trap,' citing four-hour gridlock during a tsunami warning and the Lahaina fire. Many demanded infrastructure and a second exit before any more homes are built.
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.
Recycled water expansion and possible desalination
A fire survivor credited pencil cactus with saving his property and urged county-wide planting as living firebreaks; another asked the county to fund reclaimed water delivery to Bishop Estate lands so dry fields stop becoming fire hazards.
North Kihei Road Relocation and Shoreline Management
Erosion has already eaten 600 feet of Mākena Lane, and the plan now 'must' address the inevitable relocation of North Kīhei Road. The committee added the MPO and DPW as lead agencies so the project can be prioritized for federal funding.
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.
County Parcel Adjacent to Kihei Police Station — Passive Park vs. Housing
About 140 undeveloped acres next to the Kīhei police station could become a passive park protecting rare wiliwili dryland forest and cultural sites — but Housing is preparing an affordable-housing RFP for the same land. The committee paused for the administration to weigh in.
Kulamalu Park stairway injury and missing railing
A woman fractured her hip at Kulamalu Park in Pukalani after reaching for a railing that wasn't there on a stairway landing. The park was privately built, dedicated to the county in 2011, and met code then — but no repairs have been made since the 2024 accident, and kids use those stairs regularly for Pop Warner football.
South Maui Houselessness Strategic Plan
The committee revised Action 2.14 to require a strategic plan to house unsheltered individuals in South Maui, informed by any relevant studies rather than one 2022 report. Human Concerns leads the effort, with an estimated $100,000 cost.
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.
Duplex/ADU action struck — residents can now legally add units
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.
Green Waste Composting in South Maui
Currently South Maui's green waste goes to the landfill while a private facility composts in Waikapū, outside the plan area. The committee converted the action into a policy supporting land-use entitlements for a composting operation within the plan area, and flagged a broader General Plan conversation.
Public access to county meeting information
Testifier Jasee Law told the committee he couldn't even find out what the meeting was about, saying residents struggle to keep up with the number of meetings and lack of accessible information. He asked the county to fund public access points in next year's budget.