Mayor Tavares signs new bill into law streamlining subdivision projects

Mayor Charmaine Tavares signed a new bill into law designed to streamline the subdivision process. Tavares says the measure is expected to expedite the return of hundreds in the construction trade back to work.

The bill was introduced to the Maui County Council in September 2009 at the request of Tavares. It was designed to create more efficiency and predictability by allowing subdivisions that are consistent with the land use designations, and meet all other subdivision requirements, to be approved without having to obtain a State land use district boundary amendment, community plan amendment, and/or change in zoning.

Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares. File photo by Wendy Osher.

“In the past, subdivision applicants found the requirement confusing, and many projects were delayed by this unnecessary red tape,” Mayor Tavares said. “This amendment will allow a number of projects, both large and small-scale, to move forward without having to go through additional legislative land use amendments, which are expensive and time-consuming.

“It should be emphasized that this is work that otherwise would have been held back while lengthy land use processes were dealt with before construction could even begin. I want to thank the members of our construction trades, hotel industry representatives, small and large land owners, professional planners and unions that supported our efforts to amend this law. I also appreciate the Council’s review and passage of the bill,” said Tavares.

In a press release issued by the Mayor’s office, administrative officials say that prior to the amendment, the law required that various land use designations for the project parcel match exactly, which often resulted in extensive delays if even one portion of the property did not have matching designations.

Several major hotel projects could benefit from the new law. Major hotel projects could employ as many as four hundred carpenters and hundreds more from other building trades.