Mayor Bissen urges USPS to preserve home mail delivery for Lahaina residents rebuilding after wildfire

Mayor Richard Bissen is urging the US Postal Service to preserve and restore direct home mail delivery for Lahaina residents rebuilding homes destroyed in the 2023 Maui Wildfires, emphasizing that “returning families should not lose an essential service simply because they were forced to rebuild.”

In a letter sent Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, to US Postmaster General David Steiner, Mayor Bissen said his most urgent concern is that residents returning to rebuilt homes may no longer receive the direct mail delivery they had before the fire and instead could be required to use centralized or cluster mailboxes.

“Lahaina is not a new community, and its rebuilding should not be treated as new development,” Mayor Bissen said. “Homes being reconstructed in Lahaina are existing residential lots in established neighborhoods where families lived and received mail before the fires. They should not lose that service simply because their homes were destroyed.”

Mayor Bissen noted that established Lahaina neighborhoods were not designed as new subdivisions with predetermined locations for cluster mailboxes, dedicated easements, common areas or other infrastructure needed for centralized delivery.

In many areas, there is no appropriate County of Maui property, easement, right-of-way or commonly owned parcel where centralized mailboxes can simply be installed. Requiring centralized delivery after homes are reconstructed will likely create unintended challenges involving land ownership, access, maintenance, accessibility and infrastructure.

Mayor Bissen also raised concerns about the impact on kūpuna, residents with disabilities and people with limited mobility who may face additional hardship if required to travel to centralized locations to retrieve mail.

“Recovery should restore what was lost wherever reasonably possible,” Mayor Bissen said. “It should not leave returning families with fewer services than they had on Aug. 7, 2023. At a minimum, homes that received direct delivery before the wildfires should not lose that service solely because they were forced to rebuild.”

The Mayor also asked USPS to recognize the reconstruction of homes destroyed by a federally declared disaster as distinct from new residential development when applying centralized mail delivery requirements.

Separately, Mayor Bissen expressed opposition to the proposed permanent closure of the Lahaina Downtown Post Office and asked USPS to reconsider the proposal as Lahaina’s population, businesses and economic activity continue to return.

In a letter dated Aug. 20, 2026 to postal customers in Lahaina, the USPS reported that it intends to permanently close the Lahaina Downtown Station, located at 132 Papalaua Street because of irreparable damage to the facility as a result of the August 2023 wildfire.  Last week, US Rep, Jill N. Tokuda (HI-02) and Maui County Council Member Tamara Paltin also voiced opposition to the proposed permanent closure.

The mayor also called for meaningful, in-person community engagement before USPS makes a permanent decision on the downtown facility.

“The people of Lahaina have spent three years overcoming obstacle after obstacle to come home,” Mayor Bissen said. “Federal, State and County government should be working together to make that return easier, not creating new barriers.”

The Mayor’s letter was copied to Hawaiʻi’s congressional delegation, Gov. Josh Green, state lawmakers representing West Maui, Maui County Council leadership and County officials involved in Lahaina’s recovery.