Maui Island Plan Decision Making Begins Feb. 17

By Wendy Osher

The decision making process on the Maui Island Plan gets underway next week in the council chambers.  General Plan Committee Chair, Gladys Baisa said the meeting will focus only on the introductory section, and Chapter 1 of the plan relating to population.

Gladys Baisa, file photo by Wendy Osher.

The Maui Island Plan is intended to establish Maui’s first growth boundaries, as well as policies and values to guide the county in its decision making for the next two decades.  The broader, Countywide Policy Plan was adopted in March, replacing the Maui County General Plan, approved 20 years ago.

The General Plan Committee holds its first decision-making meeting on the Maui Island Plan, Thursday, Feb. 17, at 1:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers.

Review of the Maui Island Plan precedes review of Lanai and Molokai plans, which will likely come up for review in the 2011-2013 Council term.

The Council committee last term conducted an initial review of the first 7 chapters in the 10-chapter Maui Island Plan.  Final action must still be taken on those chapters before moving on to Chapters 8-10, which include regulatory maps.

“I thank my colleagues for their foresight in creating a new committee that will be devoted to the General Plan update,” Baisa said. “The task is daunting, but with our ability to work intensively on this project I am confident that we will enact the Maui Island Plan later this year,” said Baisa.