Land Use Issues

See our page of aerial photo maps with a list of downloadable files that show most of the committed, designated, and proposed developments in each of the six community plan districts of Maui Island as of April 2007

Court denies Wailea 670 motion to dissolve injunction
The Second Circuit Court in Wailuku today denied a motion by Wailea/Honua'ula 670 to "dissolve or reconsider" a preliminary injunction previously ordered by the court in the case of Kanahele et al. v. Maui County. This is the case in which five South Maui residents are suing to void the granting of conditional residential zoning to a 1,400 unit project south of Maui Meadows and mauka of the Wailea resort. 07.16.08

DLNR proposes new rules to create civil penalty system for natural resource violations
Statewide public information meetings to be held
In an effort to step up the protection and compliance with the state's natural and cultural resources laws, the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) will hold statewide public informational meetings, starting July 14, on draft rules to establish an administrative system to process DLNR's civil (non-criminal) enforcement cases in a just, expeditious and cost-effective manner.
"People in Hawai'i care deeply about our natural and cultural resources, and want us to do a better job in protecting them and enforcing against violations that harm our lands and environment" Laura H. Thielen, DLNR chairperson, said. 07.03.08

Sunshine suit on Honua'ula held up
Second Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza gave the county and Honua'ula Properties LLC four months to prepare a defense on a lawsuit filed by five Kihei residents against the County Council. The residents, represented by attorney Lance Collins, had asked for summary judgment against the council for allegedly violating the Sunshine Law by restricting testimony from the public and for backroom negotiations during zoning hearings for the 1,400-unit South Maui development. Cardoza on Wednesday said it was premature to rule on the motion. Collins asserted that the county has already admitted the facts, so all the judge needs to do is apply the law. 06.19.08

GPAC Adopts Vision and Goals
The General Plan Advisory Committee assembled on Thursday, June 5, at the Kaunoa Senior Center in Spreckelsville in a meeting that uncovered signs of growing strain on both planning staff and GPAC's volunteer members. The meeting ended abruptly when Chair Tom Cannon declared the lack of a quorum after seven members left over the course of the meeting, completing only four of the 12 items on the evening's agenda. GPAC is slated to complete its work by mid-October of this year, although the original completion date was December 2007. 06.12.08

Honua'ula approved with conditions
With 5-4 vote, contentious development plan goes to the mayor
Shortly before the Maui County Council approved the controversial Honua'ula housing development just before 1 a.m. Wednesday by the slimmest of margins, Chairman Riki Hokama issued an ominous warning to his colleagues. Hokama said, for some, it will be a benchmark day. For others, it will be Waterloo.
"We'll find out come November," Hokama said.
That's when eight council members will be up for re-election. Hokama will not, since he is serving in the last of his maximum five consecutive terms.
Beginning Tuesday and ending Wednesday, the marathon council meeting ended, for the record, at 12:49 a.m., with two 5-4 votes. It has taken 20 years of stops and starts - plus, most recently, nearly a year of hearings before the council's Land Use Committee - before the council reached the point of forwarding the Honua'ula land use measures to Mayor Charmaine Tavares for final action. 03.20.08

Honua'ula debate heated
Even with nearly half of the people signed up to speak leaving before their turn came up, the Maui County Council went into overtime on Tuesday night on a lengthy agenda that included project district zoning for the Honua'ula development. Council members heard more than six hours of testimony, including Kihei residents concerned about the project's impact on traffic; environmentalists warning that it would destroy rare native plants; and union leaders saying Honua'ula would provide critical long-term jobs. There were also speakers contesting proposed appointments to county boards and commissions, and a discussion of key points of the state Sunshine Law by Wailuku attorney Lance Collins - who has filed a suit over the council Land Use Committee's procedures for its continuing review of the Honua'ula bills. 03.19.08

Suit seeks to void approvals for Honua'ula
A group of South Maui residents sued the Maui County Council on Wednesday to void its approvals of the controversial Honua'ula housing development, claiming council members violated the state's public meeting law. The 1,400-unit, roughly $800 million development awaits second and final reading by the council after councilors passed rezoning measures for the controversial project on first reading on Feb. 14. But Wailuku attorney Lance Collins filed a lawsuit in 2nd Circuit Court requesting a hearing and an injunction to prevent final action by council. Collins said his clients, Daniel Kanahele, Warren Blum, Lisa Buchanan, James Conniff and Cambria Moss, all of Kihei, have been outspoken critics of the project and followed it closely for years. However, in the last year, they were denied their rights a number of times under the Hawaii Sunshine Act when the council and its Land Use Committee recessed meetings in order to avoid taking public testimony, Collins said. 03.06.08

Maalaea project's EIS ready for review
The developers of a proposed 949-unit residential community at Maalaea have submitted their draft environmental impact study for public comment. The $400 million Maalaea Mauka would cover 257 acres of former sugar cane land classified by the state and county as agricultural. The project would be mix of single- and multifamily homes, townhouses, rental apartments and affordable housing for seniors. Maalaea Mauka would also include park land and a community center, according to the document issued Dec. 8. 12.20.07
(see also: 1,000-home Hawaii subdivision planned)

Honua'ula wins committee OK
With a 6-2 vote, the Maui County Council Land Use Committee ended months of deliberation Tuesday and recommended approval of the Honua'ula housing development. Listed on the Kihei-Makena Community Plan as the Wailea 670 project, the Honua'ula revision has drawn hundreds of residents to committee meetings to speak for and against the development plans. The Land Use Committee report, with its recommendation for approval of the zoning bills, probably will go to the full council for action by the second council meeting in December, according to Land Use Chairman Mike Molina. The meeting is scheduled for Dec. 21. 11.21.07

Bad reviews sink Molokai EIS
Those critical of Molokai Ranch's proposed luxury development at Laau cheered yesterday after the large landowner withdrew its environmental impact study during a state Land Use Commission hearing. Ranch representatives said they are still committed to developing the project but wanted to revise the 3,000-page study because of public criticisms. The commission's pending staff report, usually read at the end of the hearing, would have been unfavorable, according to one of the commissioners. 11.17.07

Molina says committee will vote on Honua'ula
Maui County Council Land Use Chairman Mike Molina said Thursday that his committee should be prepared to vote next week on whether to approve or disapprove the zoning request for the Honua'ula project district. He announced his intention to close months of deliberation on the proposed project when the Land Use Committee reconvenes beginning Tuesday evening.
"In my opinion, I think we've reached the saturation point," Molina said, referring to piles of documents and countless hours of debate and questions over the proposed 1,400-unit project district in South Maui. 11.09.07

Transit corridors would link Maui's population cores
Unveiling a concept for a mass transit system for Maui, a subcommittee to the Maui General Plan Advisory Committee emphasized that establishing the routes may be a key to future success.
"It's important to set the corridors early on to keep down the cost of acquiring property," said Tom Cannon as he unveiled the mass transit concept for Maui. Cannon was reporting to the Maui General Plan Advisory Committee as it works with the Planning Department to come up with a Maui island plan as part of a new county General Plan designed to guide development through 2030. 10.28.07

Planning commission action on Montana Beach affirmed
Circuit Judge Shackley Raffetto has affirmed a Maui Planning Commission decision to uphold former Planning Director John Min's withdrawal of SMA exemptions from the Montana Beach project. In an order issued Oct. 2, Raffetto ruled that the owners of the condominium units could not rely on "so-called 'long standing policy' and/or oral employee assurances" from county staff, since in this case "both are against the law." 10.26.07

Honua'ula review restarts Thursday
After a monthlong break, the Maui County Council's Land Use Committee again will take up the disputed Honua'ula project district land use requests Thursday, Oct. 18. The review of Honua'ula is to resume at 9 a.m. in the Council Chambers on the eighth floor of Kalana O Maui. Because it is a new meeting, the Land Use Committee will again be required to allow public comment on the issue. 10.13.07

Honua'ula meeting in Kihei scheduled for Sept. 10
The Maui County Council's Land Use Committee adjourned its recent meeting on the Honua'ula land use request in response to a demand from three council members that a meeting to be held in Kihei at night, when residents who work during the day can attend. 08.25.07

Wailea 670 – What's in a name?
In traditional Hawaiian life, a name was often very important. A place name like Wailea, for example, told a story. In one more generation, few will recall that Wailea once referred to a small spring and the remains of an ancient Hawaiian fishing settlement on Wailea Point. Fewer still will recall the place name Kahamanini, referring to the abundance of reef fish in nearby waters. Who will remember that Wailea is part of the ahupua'a of Paeahu?

Sprawlification – A&B's plans for expanding Kahului's boundaries, and more
On Thursday, July 5, the top brass of Hawai'i's largest corporation showed up at the Maui County Council Land Use Committee hearing on whether to reclassify 179 acres of agricultural lands on the outskirts of Kahului. The request for light industrial zoning for Maui Business Park Phase II could double the acreage already congesting the Dairy Road gauntlet of retail-commercial big box stores, traffic lights, fast food outlets and parking lots. Alexander & Baldwin owns 69,000 acres of Maui. Thirty-seven thousand of those acres, stretching through Maui's Central Valley and up across the lower slopes of Haleakala, are growing cane for Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar, an A&B subsidiary. Another 16,000 acres are conservation lands, including watershed areas with water catchment systems managed by A&B subsidiary East Maui Irrigation. 07.12.07

Beach unit condemnation sought
The Office of Corporation Counsel has asked the County Council to consider acquiring the last unit in the Montana Beach condominium through eminent domain and condemnation. The county is locked in court with Asghar Sadri, who claims in a federal civil rights lawsuit that he is suffering a loss of up to $20 million in being blocked from using his property. That does not mean he thinks his beachfront lot is, by itself, worth $20 million. He is claiming damages from being unable to use his property for the past six years. 06.16.07

Will South Maui embrace golf links, or links to our past?
"Some places gotta be left alone," Ed Lindsey said. "We think we own the world. Here's a news flash: We don't. We represent the plants and animals and spirits and stories that have taken place here. Don't destroy any more of our cultural sites." 05.24.07

Groups seeking to rally opposition to 1,400-unit project
Manager focusing on what is right in plan for Honua'ula
Read two newspaper articles that describe opposing points of view – from opposition groups and from the project manager – regarding a proposal to build 1400 homes on 670 acres in the Wailea/Makena region of South Maui. 05.16.07

Developer: Land to stay agricultural
The developer of an 1,800-acre agricultural subdivision in lower Kula said the plan is aimed at keeping the former pineapple land in agricultural use. Farmers and residents in the area were not convinced when representatives of Kula 1800 Investment Partners LLC presented the plans at a special meeting of the Kula Community Association. Waiakoa Ranch would have 86 large lots on the former pineapple and pasturelands running from Pulehu to Naalae Road below Kula Highway. Lot sizes will range from 6 to 40 acres, with one large remnant parcel of 323 acres available for sale or lease. 05.06.07

The efforts to preserve Honolua Bay and Lipoa Point
Read three recent articles on efforts by local citizens and ellected officials to preserve Honolua Bay and Lipoa Point from luxury home development.

EIS outlines improvements for Waianapanapa
A final environmental impact statement has been issued on a 20-year master plan for Waianapanapa State Park in Hana that provides for a new access road, upgraded restrooms and sewage-handling systems, new cabins, and protection of cultural resources. The improvements also include a larger parking area set back from the coastline to accommodate the heavy daytime traffic loads, with a new interpretive center to provide information on the natural, historic and cultural resources found in the 110-acre park. 03.27.07

Maui GPAC meetings open to public input on the issues
The Maui Island General Plan Advisory Committee wishes to give our residents an update of our activities and progress. The GPAC is composed of 25 residents from each geographical district of Maui. Nineteen members were selected by the council and six were selected by the mayor. The group represents a broad spectrum of our community with geographical, gender and ethnic diversity, and representation ranging from environmentalists to developers. 03.20.07

Tavares calls for tax give-back
Mayor Charmaine Tavares presented a $524.9 million budget proposal Thursday, a 12 percent increase over current spending, with a substantial investment in sewer, water and sanitation projects. Tavares' budget offers across-the-board property tax rate cuts to offset expected increases in property assessments, and would increase rates for water, sewer and landfill services. 03.16.07

Honua'ula makes halting progress
After more than six hours of discussion, Council Land Use Chairman Mike Molina put the Honua'ula project district on hold for three months, giving committee members until June 15 to prepare comments on conditions proposed by the planning staff and developer. Molina said on Thursday that he expects the Land Use Committee to continue its review of the 670-acre residential development in late summer or early fall. 03.16.07

Sierra club criticizes luxury development plan, says La'au could become the next Makena
In a letter addressed to the Maui County Planning Dept. and Molokai Planning Commission, The Sierra Club Maui Group last week urged planning professionals to "seriously question" the conclusions of the Draft Environmental Impact Assessment for La'au Point and asked that the Sierra Club be considered as a consulting party on the matter. 03.14.07

Kitagawa still seeks to use his own land for scrap metal site
Mike Kitagawa would like to move his auto and appliance recycling business from a leased site in the Kahului Industrial Park to land he owns next to Kanaha Pond wildlife sanctuary. He got into auto recycling when the Maui's only scrapping operations were shut down in March 2005. Since opening, he's recycled 6,000 junkers over two years, clearing away an accumulation of old vehicles and appliances, including a collection that the county stored without permits on the old Waikapu landfill. 03.07.07

Maui Sierra Club criticizes La`au Point Development plan
In a letter addressed to the Maui County Planning Dept. and Molokai Planning Commission The Sierra Club Maui Group last week urged planning professionals to “seriously question” the conclusions of the Draft Environmental Impact Assessment for La`au Point and asked that the Sierra Club be considered as a consulting party on the matter. 03.04.07

Maui County 2030 General Plan Update
The Planning Director’s proposed County-wide Policy Plan for the General Plan update. These policies will be evaluated by the GPAC and revisions will be recommended during Spring, 2007. 02.22.07

Council's vacation rental bill shelved
A long-debated bill to regulate vacation rentals was killed Thursday by the County Council Planning Committee, after committee members agreed the proposal on the table just didn't have enough community support. The proposed bill sought to establish standards and policies for vacation rentals and bed-and-breakfasts, and to clarify and streamline permitting procedures. But it received an unenthusiastic response from the county Planning Department and the Maui, Molokai and Lanai planning commissions. 02.16.07

Council chair plans to close the lid on big box retailers
Maui County Council Chairman Riki Hokama is proposing a ban on "superstores," which could prevent any new big box retailers from opening shop on Maui. The proposal would change land-use laws to prohibit stores that occupy more than 90,000 square feet, stock more than 25,000 different products or dedicate more than 20,000 square feet to groceries. In a written message to council members, Hokama said superstores contradict smart-growth principles, and noted that the Big Island, Kauai and Honolulu are contemplating similar policies. 01.27.07

General Plan update contracted out to consultants tied to developers
The Maui County General Plan will undergo a major overhaul this year. Policy will be set that will have major impact on development versus preservation for many years. The General Plan Advisory Committee is just now beginning its work. The Planning Department is outsourcing much of the process to companies that have a direct financial interest in building and development on Maui. Specifically, the Planning Department has entered into contracts with Plan Pacific Inc. and Chris Hart & Partners to do most of the update. 01.21.07

Federal grant to support Nu‘u wetland refuge
A $2.4 million U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant for Hawaii includes funds to assist in the acquisition of 78 acres at Nu‘u for a wetland refuge, service officials said Friday. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is receiving a share of $18.8 million allocated by the U.S. Department of Interior to 14 states for restoration and protection of wetlands. But the Nu‘u project is being led by the Maui Coastal Land Trust, which has been negotiating with landowner Kaupo Ranch to set aside and protect the site rich in cultural and well as natural resources. 01.22.07

Molokai: Battle for Survival
Considered to be the birthplace of the hula, Molokai is place where the people dance to their own tune. About 40 percent of Molokai residents have native Hawaiian ancestry, and many hunt, fish and farm the land for a living. Molokai Ranch, the island's largest landowner and employer, has proposed a plan that would refurbish Kaluakoi Resort and give back more than 50,000 acres to the community in exchange for the right to turn 500 acres near the federally protected Laau Point into an upscale residential subdivision. Under the plan, the ranch would continue to control 13,880 acres, including the Kaluakoi Hotel and golf course, the Lodge at Maunaloa, and the Beach Village at Kaupoa. 01.14.07

State conservation violations could lead to large fine for man; Fine recommendation going to contested case hearing
A West Maui man who allegedly cleared land at Honolua Bay and built unpermitted structures on the site is facing a fine of up to $331,350 for violations in the state conservation zone. The recommendation for penalties for conservation district violations was presented to the state Board of Land and Natural Resources, but no action could be taken since the issue was to be scheduled for a contested case hearing. 01.10.07

Maui urban limits critical
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. 01.08.07
The making of a natural leader
After realizing there were few people fully capable of caring for its 11 preserves statewide, The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii invested $500,000 over a two-year period to train leaders. The concept: If there are no qualified workers, train them yourself. 01.08.07

Enforcement tops environmentalists' agenda
Invasive species, the Superferry, carbon dioxide and depleted uranium are all items environmentalists plan to take up with the Hawaii Legislature in its 2007 session. But one issue rises above all others: the need for more enforcement. "We can have all the rules in the world. If they're never enforced, it's ... kind of pointless," said Cha Smith, executive director of KAHEA, an advocacy group for environmental and native Hawaiian causes. 01.02.07

Newcomer to take lead on Maui planning
Mayor-elect Charmaine Tavares has picked a relative newcomer to Maui County to head the Department of Planning. Tavares said she picked Jeff Hunt to lead the agency that oversees development because of his community planning experience in other tourist destinations. 12.31.06

Hawaii's paradise falls victim to progress
Early Hawaiian culture taught that the earth is a living, conscious being. It is not to be dominated but is to be cared for with pono (balance and rightness). In the land of true aloha (love, compassion, divine blessings) the land provides for its people. This sacred Hawaiian value is similarly expressed in the cultures of many ethnic groups. As 2006 concludes, I struggle to find the words to express the angst and powerlessness I feel about what is happening to our planet and to the values that should be guiding our relationship with it. 12.31.06
Molokai Ranch files land use applications
Molokai Ranch has filed applications with Maui County for required land use changes to allow the company to proceed with its La'au Point rural-residential subdivision. A draft environmental impact statement was filed with the state Office of Environmental Quality Control earlier this month, with a public comment period ending Feb. 6. 12.26.06

Nahiku fends off tandem trucks
Betsill Brothers Construction Company sent eight tandem trucks to Lower Nahiku Road last Thursday to deliver the first of what would have been 64 loads of cinder to be used in the installation of power poles. After two hours of negotiations, the truckers turned around.  Standing in their way—literally—were about 30 members of the Nahiku Community Association (NCA) who say that Betsill has an obligation to fully inform the community about delivery plans which could threaten the already delicate condition of their bridges and roads. 11.20.06

2006 National Awards for Smart Growth Achievement
The Environmental Protection Agency presented its 2006 National Awards for Smart Growth Achievement to the City of Chicago; the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; the City of Wichita, Kan.; the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and the City of Winooski, Vt. These award winners were recognized for their innovative approaches to development that strengthen community identity and protect the environment. 11.15.06

The game is over for shoreline developers
The Hawai‘i Supreme Court has issued a ruling strongly reaffirming that the shoreline in Hawai‘i, which marks the boundary between public beach and private land, extends to the highest wash of the waves, and rejecting the use of artificially planted vegetation to determine the shoreline. 11.20.06

Sustainable Design Dream Team holds weekend charrette
Around 20 people gathered last weekend to begin designing Maui's first farm community for developmentally disabled adults and to discuss, among other things, visions of what Sunrise Farm could look and feel like in 30 years. 11.20.06

Project district OK'd for Kapalua Mauka
A deadlock in the Maui Planning Commission broke Tuesday afternoon, giving Maui Land & Pineapple Co. approval for its plans to build multimillion-dollar homes and a new private golf course at the Kapalua Resort. The development, which earlier this year had received project district zoning approval from the County Council, also was seeking a special management area use permit for off-site infrastructure improvements to support Kapalua Mauka. 11.15.06

Panel backs zoning for two scrapyards at Puunene sites
Although two private businesses now are taking in junked cars and appliances for recycling, the county Department of Public Works and Environmental Management is getting ready to get into the game, too. On Tuesday, the county department got the unanimous assent of the Maui Planning Commission to rezone 15 acres at the old Puunene airport for a recycling and storage facility. 11.16.06

Planning commission OK's Dowling's Keaka project
The pros outnumbered the cons 5-2 when the commission voted Tuesday on a special management area permit and special accessory use permit for the $220 million project down the coastline from the Maui Prince Hotel. 11.18.06

EPA notes positive measures
More than $95 million has been committed in Hawai'i in the past year to correcting environmental violations and preventing future pollution as a result of enforcement actions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 11.19.06

Council gives initial OK to road impact fees
Builders would have to pay a new fee of $8,442 per West Maui home and $4,625 per South Maui home, under proposed traffic impact fees that advanced in the Maui County Council on Friday. 11.18.06

We must boost protection of life-giving watershed
Recognizing the economic value and biological wealth and fragility of the upland forests, private and public landowners began creating voluntary partnerships in the 1990s to protect these precious resources from the destruction wrought by non-native weeds and feral animals like goats, deer and pigs. Nine watershed partnerships now protect nearly 1 million acres of our most important forested lands.

Council rejects veto, OKs housing policy
A new residential work force housing policy became law Tuesday after the Maui County Council unanimously overrode a veto by Mayor Alan Arakawa. "This is the win-win situation that we all strive for," said Housing Chairman Danny Mateo, who got in the last word at a special meeting held Tuesday in Council Chambers to override the mayor's veto. Members voting to override included Mayor-elect Charmaine Tavares, who will be responsible for implementing the new law when she takes office Jan. 2. She was joined by Council Chairman Riki Hokama and Council Members Michelle Anderson, Bob Carroll, Jo Anne Johnson, Dain Kane and Mateo. Council Members Mike Molina and Joe Pontanilla were excused.12.06.06

Maui mayor to veto housing bill
Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa vowed to veto a measure that would set strict requirements for luxury developers to build affordable homes, despite the County Council's unanimous approval of the bill. The bill requires developments in which fewer than half the units are to be sold for more than $600,000 to provide 40 percent of their units at affordable prices, defined as between $204,000 and $454,700. 11.07.06

Advocates hail beach-access ruling; Critics question the effects on owners of beachfront homes
The state Supreme Court affirmed Tuesday that the public shoreline extends to the highest wash of waves, at high tide during the highest surf season. Hawaii residents may be encouraged by the court ruling to insist that an eroding beach means the private landowner loses part of his property, as public property moves inland. But whether that's a good thing depends on one's point of view. 10.30.06

Bypassing Pa'ia - Who owns the best right-of-way?
Sunnyside Road. Pa'ia Mill Road. Lower Hamakuapoko Road. Long before there was a Hana Highway, those three roads existed much as they do today. Linked together with Kala Road - as they still are - they mark the historic roadway used by residents of the North Shore region for over one hundred years. They also offer a sensible route for the long-anticipated Pa'ia bypass road today.