Maui urban limits critical

The Maui News
Monday, January 08, 2007
Editorial

The single most important aspect of Maui County's General Plan update is setting limits on urban development. The only way any of Maui's most cherished attribute - open space - can be saved is by setting boundaries.

For decades, Maui's urban area growth was constrained by plantation and ranch ownership of large tracts of land. Kihei is largely the result of ranches selling off their coastal properties. The end of C. Brewer's plantation around Wailuku and the end of Pioneer Mill around Lahaina opened up the floodgates for possible developments that can have little or no regard for overall effect.

Limiting residential and commercial sprawl is more than just a matter of charm or aesthetics. There are hard economic realities with supplying water, sewers, ground transportation, electricity, etc. The more spread out infrastructure is, the more expensive it is to construct and maintain. As it is, county taxpayers have to foot nearly all of the bills.

Setting definite limits on the growth of Maui towns will increase residential and commercial densities but that is the only way to keep the island from being covered with houses and other buildings.

Drawing those all-important lines will be politically tough. It will take courageous elected officials to say this property owner can develop and that property owner cannot, but there is a reason buying undeveloped land is called real estate speculation.

There are also advantages to concentrating populations beyond the cost of supplying infrastructure - either by the county or by the developer. Higher densities would prompt more centralized amenities such as medical, recreational and entertainment facilities. As it is, there is no one area on Maui that can support urban-like assets. That means frequent trips to the other side of the island no matter which side of the island is the point of origin. It might even cut down on discretionary roaming by tourists in search of some diversion or another.

If Maui is to maintain any semblance of being rural, or even exurban, people will need to live with people. That would leave more nature to be enjoyed by all.