Council Member (Kahului)· 2026-01-05 - 2027-01-01
Kauanoe Batangan
Maui County
No biography on file yet.
Voice
- Meetings spoken in
- 77
- Total speaking time
- 8:41:08
- Avg per meeting
- 6:46
- Segments
- 8121
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Top issues during term (20)
South Maui Community Plan update (Bill 108)
Testifiers said the plan's projects and actions carry no visible cost or funding plan — potentially hundreds of millions in taxpayer-funded infrastructure.
Gulch and drainage-way protection policies
Could affect the viability of drainage master plan projects in Kīhei.
Wastewater disinfection concerns at Wailuku-Kahului facility
UV upgrades would require new funding; the chair invited the department to bring cost requests to the council.
Protection of Wahi Kupuna and cultural resources
Funding status for the monument was discussed; no county commitment was made at this meeting.
Emergency evacuation routes for South Maui
Building a North Kīhei bypass or opening ranch-road access would require major county infrastructure spending not yet funded.
North-South Collector Road and eminent domain
First phase estimated at $72-75 million and expected to rise; current funding is only about half of what's needed to reach Kaonoulu.
$1.6B CDBG-DR wildfire recovery fund status
Groups requested $500,000 in county funding, with household gaps of up to $500,000 each.
Kula (Waiakoa) gym damage and possible total loss
Potential full facility replacement if deemed a total loss; FEMA eligibility pursued through reclassification.
Upcountry water meter list and supply
Desalination plants are expensive to build and operate, with costs likely passed to ratepayers.
Māʻalaea Triangle zoning cleanup
The two main property owners are splitting the cost of the rezoning effort.
North Kihei Road Relocation and Shoreline Management
$500,000 estimated for the management plan, with county, state and federal funding.
Infrastructure Priority for 100% Affordable and Workforce Housing
Requirements add costs to housing projects, which Chair Lee warns could make homes less affordable.
Sea level rise and shoreline management retreat
Proposed conditions could require owners to fund shoreline surveys, document and bond structures, and eventually remove improvements encroaching on public trust lands.
Structural reform of county boards and commissions
Most boards cost little directly, but thin staffing and IT problems have already caused cancelled meetings and duplicated support structures.
Adopt-A-Street litter and stormwater program
Operating within existing public works resources; no new funding was requested.
Hotel rezoning of apartment-district TVR properties (Bill 9 exemptions)
Owners testified buildings like Hale Kai O Kīhei are underinsured by at least $5 million with flood insurance costing roughly $10,000 per unit per year, while critics say hotel zoning locks in visitor revenue instead of housing.
County acquisition of Launiupoko and Olowalu water systems
Up to $6 million for the purchase, plus roughly $1.55 million in post-closing transition and improvement costs, offset by projected annual revenues of about $3.3 million against $1.55 million in operating costs.
Council vacancy Charter amendment
A special election could cost roughly $600,000 to $700,000 per occurrence.
Climate action revolving fund
Roughly $14 million per year of TAT revenue would be set aside under the 20% proposal.
Sister-city relationship with Laoag, Philippines
The Sister Cities Foundation has received around $14,000 in county budget support historically, and any seed money for new exchanges would come up in the next budget cycle.
Decisions during term (435)
Recorded while Batangan was in office — not necessarily decisions they moved, spoke to, or voted on.
Recommend passage of Bill 139 (2026) on first reading (Keokea Industrial UGB amendment)
Substitute CD1 draft of Bill 139
Amend draft Action 1.16: mauka collector road feasibility study
Add implementation action and reduce study cost to $250,000
Defer Bill 108 (2026), South Maui Community Plan Update
Bill 141 (2026) — Maui Research & Technology Park zoning amendments
Amendment to Bill 24 Condition 8 — water-reporting sunset
Striking Bill 24 Condition 9 — bypass-road requirement
Bills 24 and 25 (2024) — Lānaʻi Project District 2 (Kōʻele) downzoning
Bill 142 (2026) — Monetary donations during an emergency
CD1 amendment to Bill 131 (2026)
Bill 131 (2026) as amended — FY 2027 budget donations provisions
Bill 132 (2026) — $100,000 disaster donation line item
Amendment restoring $5,000 maximum administrative fine
Amendment covering boards and commissions in the definition of administrative action
Replace Bill 100 with the proposed CD1 version as amended
Recommend passage of Bill 100 (2026) on first reading
Deferral of Cost of Government Commission recommendations item
Bill 116 (2026) — CD1 amendment
Bill 116 (2026) — recommend passage on first reading
Voting record (90)
Oldest to newest — hover a bar for the item.
Amendment to Bill 24 Condition 8 — water-reporting sunset
Striking Bill 24 Condition 9 — bypass-road requirement
Supports a bypass but the 1983 alignment is unbuildable and lacks rational nexus
Bills 24 and 25 (2024) — Lānaʻi Project District 2 (Kōʻele) downzoning
Definition of natural drainage ways (Appendix D)
Amend Action 3.24 — continue desalination feasibility study, explore demonstration facility
amend the County lead agency to give Planning a hand by adding Maui Metropolitan Planning Organization and Department of Public Works... the plan must address coastal resilience, recreation resource,
strike Action 2.16 from page 123 of our draft community plan booklet and add it to Policy Goal 2.2... and it would say, "Prioritize infrastructure improvements for housing developments that are 100 pe
insert the word pu‘uhonua in the appropriate place on page 167. And then say, "Please refer to page 161 for the…the definition as the term is used in this booklet."
Amendment to Action 2.15 — pu'uhonua / culturally infused low-barrier shelter
Insert pu'uhonua into 'Ōlelo Hawai'i definitions section
Build at least one pu‘uhonua or culturally infused low-barrier safe low-barrier shelter with proper sanitation and utilities for those with no or very limited income.
amend page 123 of the draft plan by striking action item 2.18 and moving it to Section 2, Goal 2.2, Livable For All section, to read, "Support land use entitlements to implement a grand…green waste co
striking Action 2.17 from page 123 of the draft South Maui Community Plan, including any nonsubstantive changes or revisions.
Action 2.16 moved to policy — infrastructure for 100% affordable/workforce housing
Strike Action 2.17 — duplexes/kitchenettes already legal
Action 2.18 converted to policy — green waste composting
Amendment to Action 2.20 — North Kīhei Road shoreline management plan
to go into executive session
go to the recommended changes and just strike “to development,” and any other nonsubstantive changes
add that we’d like to follow the Urban Forest Plan that was mentioned until such time that the South Maui Tree Canopy Plan is adopted.
Amend Policy 2.2.14 — reference Urban Forest Management Plan
I move to follow the ASF that I submitted that everyone should have that’s uploaded to Granicus, which would insert two whereas clauses.
I will be using the same exact ASF, but I will be saying that it doesn’t apply to properties in the flood hazard area.
Recommending ADOPTION of Resolution 26-129, CD1.
I would like a motion to amend referencing the ASF I distributed today. I will entertain a motion to amend Resolution 26-129 by replacing it with the proposed CD1 version attached to the ASF, and the
I move to add a criteria that properties mauka of South Kīhei Road not be included.
I move to file this resolution.
Paltin criteria: exclude properties mauka of South Kīhei Road
Prefers the SLR-XA line over the road line; open to reconsidering after Planning Commission input
Rawlins-Fernandez criteria: 25% residential-use cutoff (original form)
Would prefer a 50% threshold; 25% disqualifies predominantly TVR properties
Rawlins-Fernandez criteria, as amended by Paltin (exclude flood-zone properties)
Motion to amend Resolution 26-129 (adopt criteria and replacement CD1)
Recommend adoption of Resolution 26-129 as amended
Motion to file Resolution 26-130
recommend passing of Bill 113 (2026) on first reading
Recommend passage of Bill 113 (2026) on first reading (as amended)
I’m happy to make it as a amendment on my own.
HLU-25 amendment: Count the evacuation route toward the 20% open space requirement
Offered the compromise to ease the applicant's tax and revenue burden on restricted open space.
Amendment to Bill 97 (2026), Exhibit A, Section 7
Bill 97 (2026), CD1 — Waiohuli Wells intergovernmental agreement
Supported after securing language tying source credits to actual operating capacity