#Maui County Council

The Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee voted 6-1 Tuesday to advance new hotel zoning districts for thousands of short-term vacation rentals facing a county-mandated phase-out—overriding unanimous rejection from all three county planning commissions.

A Maui County Council committee voted 5-1 Wednesday to recommend passage of two land use bills that would clear the way for the proposed Hoʻonani Village mixed-use development on former sugarcane fields near Kahului Airport, overriding deferral recommendations from three county departments with concerns about infrastructure shortfalls.

Surrounded by his family and the family of the late Council Member Tasha Kama, fourth generation Kahului resident and current Council Member Kauanoe Batangan officially filed nomination papers Friday to run for the Maui County Council. Batangan shared the moment with his young family, parents, and family-members of his predecessor. 

A mixed-use development proposed for 40 acres of former sugarcane land near Pāʻia won committee approval Wednesday, moving a project that would bring up to 170 homes, commercial businesses, a medical clinic and a public parking lot to the next stage of a years-long entitlement process.

The Maui County Council’s Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee voted 6-3 Tuesday to recommend full Council approval of the county’s proposed purchase of a contested Kaʻehu Bay shoreline parcel in Waiehu, setting aside calls from a Native Hawaiian family for deferral pending further consultation.

A Maui County Council committee recommended first reading approval Tuesday of a $4 million bond funding request for the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Arts project in Wailuku, even as council members raised pointed questions about why items originally represented as part of the project had been dropped before construction began.

The Maui County Council’s Water and Infrastructure Committee deferred action Monday on a proposed overnight parking ban on three industrial area streets in Kahului after hearing community concerns about its impact on homeless people living out of their cars and the need for safer alternatives.

The Maui County Council unanimously passed a $1.6 billion fiscal year 2027 budget on first reading Friday, approving a contested shoreline stabilization grant after a lengthy discussion and splitting 5-4 on election-year spending limits on the mayor’s office.

The Maui County Council will take up a $1.6 billion budget Friday morning, following a committee recommendation to trim Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposal by reducing capital improvement projects while still increasing funding for day-to-day operations.

With three weeks left before the June 2 candidate filing deadline, the Maui County candidate line-ups are taking shape. Two incumbents — West Maui Council Member Tamara Paltin and East Maui Council Member Shane Sinenci — have officially committed to campaigns for re-election while others haven’t jumped in officially, yet. Five council members — Kauanoe […]

The 54-year-old said his passion is public service, but he does not plan to run for the permanent lieutenant governor post in Hawai’i, saying he is more of an operations guy than a politician.

Maui County Council Chair Alice Lee said Wednesday evening that she will not seek re-election this year. Instead, the veteran council member is throwing her support behind Marvin Moniz, a longtime state Department of Transportation airports manager, to succeed her in the Wailuku-Waiheʻe-Waikapū residency seat.

Former Maui County Council Member Kelly King has officially announced her candidacy for the South Maui residency seat on the Maui County Council, setting up a rematch against incumbent Tom Cook less than a year after losing to him by 97 votes.

Maui County Council members passed on second and final reading Friday a bill to refund $234,050 to Kamalani Ventures LLC for overpayments related to a 2015 workforce housing agreement. Action on the measure had been postponed from a regular Council meeting on April 2.

The incumbent mayor is contending with a lawsuit and a slate of challengers as he defends his first term, with one political analyst calling it “probably the most interesting race this election cycle.”

The Maui County Council’s Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee completed its review of Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget this week, unanimously adopting a revised spending plan of approximately $1.608 billion.

Department of Environmental Management officials now forecast the planned Central Maui Wastewater Reclamation Facility in Waikapū will cost from $298 million to $420 million, or two- to three-times higher than the $130.6 million project estimate published in the project’s final environmental impact statement in February.

Maui County Council Member Kauanoe Batangan has proposed an across-the-board 1.25% budget cut for non-first-responder departments that would yield somewhat more than $5 million in savings from Mayor Richard Bissen’s fiscal 2027 $1.61 billion budget proposal.

The Maui Division of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 142 has officially endorsed Bobby Pahia for the Maui County Council Upcountry residency seat, citing his deep roots in the community, lifelong commitment to working families, and strong alignment with the union’s priorities.

The Maui Police Department is requesting a $12.2 million budget increase next fiscal year, or 11.6% more than this year, to address staffing shortages and modernize public safety technology across Maui County.