#Department of Planning

Residents are encouraged to attend the County of Maui’s Weekly Disaster Recovery Community Meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6, in the Lahaina Intermediate School cafeteria. The meeting will include a presentation by Keʻeaumoku Kapu on the work of Nā ʻAikāne of Maui and the cultural monitoring program in place for debris cleanup in Lahaina.

The Maui Planning Commission heard more than seven hours of often impassioned testimony Tuesday, then deliberated nearly three hours before recommending that the Maui County Council approve a bill to phase-out of thousands of short-term rentals in apartment districts, mostly in South and West Maui.

The Maui Planning Commission failed to have enough commissioners available this morning for an anticipated continuation of a public hearing on a proposed phase-out of approximately 7,000 transient vacation rentals in Maui County’s apartment-zoned districts.

Round 2 in a battle over Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed phase-out of approximately 7,000 transient vacation rentals in Maui County’s apartment-zoned districts will move tomorrow to a different venue and have a duration estimated at only one hour.

Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed elimination of transient vacation rentals in Maui County’s apartment-zoned districts is expected to lead to more available long-term rental and for-sale housing, although the high dollar value of apartments in coastal resort areas mean there “may be issues” about their affordability.

A wave of opposition has been building from vacation rental owners and property managers to Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed phase-out of an estimated 7,000 transient vacation rentals in apartment-zoned districts in Maui County.

Maui County Council members approved on second-and-final reading Friday a bill to permit a 500-square-foot increase in the size of secondary farm dwellings in agricultural districts on Maui and Lānaʻi.

Maui County Council Housing and Land Use Committee members unanimously recommended approval Wednesday of a bill to rezone the former Old Laundry Building in Hāna town. Bill 69 would re-establish commercial use for the 21,711-square-foot property, possibly as an art or culturally appropriate music studio.

Without resuscitation, the future is bleak for Queen Kaʻahumanu Center, with the aging, once premier Central Maui shopping destination caught in a downward spiral — store closings lead to less foot traffic, which beget more loss of business, and so on.

The Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee voted 8-1 Wednesday to recommend passage of a bill to allow a 500-square-foot increase in the size of secondary farm dwellings in agricultural districts on Maui and Lānaʻi.

Maui County Council members will hear a presentation from the Department of Planning on Monday on a draft of Maui County’s first official wetland map. The Agriculture, Diversification, Environment and Public Transportation Committee, chaired by Council Member Gabe Johnson, is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. Monday.

The County of Maui Office of Recovery and Department of Planning will hold a neighborhood planning workshop for Wahikuli residents to share their thoughts on topics specific to the area with county staff from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Lahainaluna High School Cafeteria.

The County of Maui Office of Recovery and Department of Planning will hold a neighborhood workshop for Kelawea Mauka residents from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at Lahainaluna High School Cafeteria, 980 Lahainaluna Road.  

Ana Lillis, a former planner in the Zoning Administration and Enforcement Division, was named Deputy Director of the County of Maui Department of Planning. Her official start date is April 1.

Kate Blystone won a recommendation for confirmation as Department of Planning director in an 8-1 vote Tuesday afternoon from the Maui County Council’s Government Relations, Ethics and Government Transparency Committee.

The County of Maui aims to make it easier for residents to request and receive public records in accordance with Hawai’i law, thanks to software technology modernization, the county Department of the Corporation Counsel announced today.

Mayor-elect Bissen announced the appointments of directors to three more departments within his administration: Shayne Agawa as Director of Department of Environmental Management; Kathleen Aoki as Director of Department of Planning; and Marc Takamori as Director of Transportation.

The Maui County Council passed a bill today that will restore and protect wetlands.

Public review and comment is being sought for the County of Maui Department of Planning’s five-year Strategic Plan, the department announced. The draft plan is available for review through Oct. 10.

The next community budget meeting for Fiscal Year 2023, hosted by Mayor Michael Victorino and his administration, will be held on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021, starting at 5:30 p.m.