Maui Residents Invited to Testify on Permitting

Members of the public have two opportunities to comment on proposed revisions to the Maui Planning Commission’s Special Management Area (SMA) permits and shoreline area rules during meetings on Oct. 2 and 9, 2018 in Wailuku.

The changes are recommended by a staff team that has been working for years to streamline the SMA process and to respond to climate change and sea level rise, according to the county’s Planning Department.

The meeting to present and discuss proposed changes and answer any questions from the public will be held at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2. A workshop with the department and the commission will be held on Oct. 9 after the commission meeting, which starts at 9 a.m. A workshop time is not set because it will take place after the commission completes other agenda items. Both meetings will be held in the Planning Conference Room of the Kalana Pakui Building, 250 S. High St., Wailuku.

After the events, the department will finalize the rules, which have to be the subject of a public hearing before they can be adopted by the Maui Planning Commission and signed by the mayor.

“These revisions have been in the works for many years and are the result of an extraordinary staff effort. We hope to have strong support from the community because these rule changes are environmentally responsible and offer common-sense streamlining,” said Planning Director Michele McLean.

The draft rules can be found online. For more information, contact the Planning Department at (808) 270-7735 or at [email protected].