Maui County Council members have unanimously approved a state, fast-tracked affordable housing, mixed-use development called Kaiahale ‘o Kahiluhilu.

Located on 3.4 acres of state land at 153 West Kaʻahumanu Ave., the Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corp. project, developed by EAH Housing, will feature two six-story buildings with 303 residential units and 298 parking stalls. Residential units will be affordable for households earning between 30% and 60% of the area median income.

The housing development is part of a larger Kahului Civic Center mixed-use complex. The site’s comprehensive master plan includes a civic center and a transit hub, with Maui County’s Kahului Transit Hub opening in November 2024.

During discussion last month before the Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee, the project drew questions about how water had been made available — through a water availability exemption — for the state-sponsored, fast-track affordable housing project in Central Maui while similar accommodations had not been made for Pulelehua, a “shovel-ready project” in West Maui where affordable housing is desperately needed after the August 2023 wildfires.

According to a Council resolution, Pulelehua is already approved for construction of 800 homes, with Phase 1 including 240 units that are 100% affordable and could house from 700 to 1,000 people.

Later in the Sept. 8 meeting, council members voted 8-1, with Council Member Yuki Lei Sugimura dissenting, to pass Resolution 25-171, which urges the Maui County Department of Water Supply — which has already determined there’s no water available for the Pulelehua project — to find that Phase 1 of the project is exempt from the county’s water availability policy.

The resolution also encourages the water director to negotiate with Hawaii Water Service Co. Inc. and Maui Land & Pineapple Co. to explore conveying additional water storage, including storage tanks and reservoirs, to allocate additional water to the West Maui water system.

The Department of Water Supply evaluates water availability in separate water systems —such as Central and West Maui — separately, Director John Stufflebean said last month.

“On the West Side, there is no water available for any new connections and, due to (West Maui water) designation, this situation is not likely to change for some time,” he said. “In addition, we need to be absolutely sure that we have water for those rebuilding” in West Maui.

In August 2022, the state Commission on Water Resource Management designated surface and groundwater as a management area under state oversight, meaning that the state, not Maui County, administers water withdrawal permits.

In an unrelated matter, council members adopted Resolution 172, which calls on the state to request the US military to stop bombing at the Pōhakuloa Training Area on Hawaiʻi Island. A similar resolution has been passed by the Hawaiʻi County Council. Its resolution asked the state and military to stop desecration activities at the training area.

In other action last week, council members passed on second-and-final reading:

• Bill 79, which would established paid parking zones at South Maui beach parks, giving residents first priority access. The legislation is an initial step toward implementing Maui County’s new PARK MAUI program, which will be introduced in phases.
• Bill 93, which amends the County’s fiscal 2026 budget for the Maui Police Department to transfer one equivalent personnel and $57,192 from a vacant emergency services dispatcher position to an investigator position in the department’s administration program.

On first reading, council members passed:

• Bill 120, which changes a state land classification for about 9 acres in Hāna from agricultural to rural district for Hāna Health.
• Bill 123, which amends the Maui County Code’s provisions on restrictions and standards for bed-and-breakfast operations. (The amendment allows a bed-and-breakfast operator to live off-site while his or her residence is being reconstructed or repaired after a disaster.)
• Bill 124, which amends the County Code with respect to names of public facilities.
• Bill 125, which amends the fiscal 2026 budget for the Department of Management’s Office of Recovery to update language for the Lahaina Restoration Foundation.
• Bill 126, which amends the fiscal 2026 budget for the Office of the Mayor, Economic Development Program, to decrease an appropriation for the Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi youth and student travel by $100,000 and add language allowing up to the same amount for youth and student travel for the Lānaʻi Community Association.

The Council’s next regular meeting is Sept. 26.