#office of council services

Maui County Council members are four days into a close, section-by-section review of the South Maui Community Plan update—and they’re running into hard questions about whether the county can deliver on the plan’s goals and designated growth areas.

The Maui County Council voted 7-1 twice Friday to send the Maui Planning Commission a pair of resolutions that could permanently move roughly 2,056 apartment-district transient vacation rental units into new hotel zoning, over the objection of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Council Member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, who cast the lone “no” votes.

The Maui County Council’s Government Relations, Ethics and Transparency Committee will discuss Board of Ethics’ legislative priorities during a meeting set to begin at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, committee Chair Kauanoe Batangan announced Friday. Discussion topics will include legislative proposals on penalties, nepotism and lobbying. Tuesday’s meeting is part of the committee’s ongoing efforts to “strive […]

Department of Human Concerns officials will update Maui County Council members Monday morning on the status of a safe parking project aimed at providing homeless people a secure place to sleep in their vehicles overnight.

A Maui County Council committee voted unanimously last week to send a bill increasing fines for vehicle noise violations to the full Council, even as some members questioned whether the measure would have any real-world impact.

The Maui Metropolitan Planning Organization announced the appointment of Kasie M. Apo Takayama as its new Executive Director.

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.

The resolution proposes to recognize the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana for 50 years of dedication to aloha ‘āina in bringing an end to the bombing of the island.

The Water Authority, Social Services and Parks Committee meeting and the Water and Infrastructure Committee meetings that were scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 9, have been canceled because of the continuing threat of severe weather, the Office of Council Services announced.

A proposal to provide expedited property tax relief to local homebuyers stalled Tuesday after Maui County finance officials cautioned that the county’s tax system is designed to be “retroactive” and cannot easily handle mid-year adjustments for now. #propertytax #Maui

Waiʻehu community members who oppose the 119-unit Hale Mahaolu Ke Kahua affordable housing project have escalated their fight, filing a formal Sunshine Law complaint against the Maui County Council.

On a day full of intense tension and high drama, the Maui County Council voted 5-4 to approve amendments on second-and-final reading for the hotly debated Honuaʻula project. But the final vote of the Council meeting came amid a noisy floor fight between Council Chair Alice Lee and Council Member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez.

After a long “regular” meeting Friday-Saturday, the Maui County Council reconvened Monday morning and made short work of the rest of its agenda items in less than two hours.

After a tense 90-minute debate, the Maui County Council voted 6-3 on Friday to give its staff a 15% pay increase, plus an additional 5% for experience and performance-based “step” increases.

Council members ended their work on the fiscal 2026 budget Tuesday, giving final approval to a $1.558 billion spending plan that sets the course for Maui County government beginning July 1.

The budget pending second reading on Tuesday, has been reduced $9.4 million from the Budget Committee, but still $46 million more than the Bissen proposed budget. Once approved, the budget will go into effect July 1.

A notice to proceed with construction of the Haʻikū Fire Station is scheduled for April 2026, if all permits and entitlements are approved. Then, in July 2028, the fully outfitted station is expected to be ready to house firefighters, fire trucks and other equipment, Fire Chief Brad Ventura told Maui County Council members in an […]

Maui County Council members passed on first reading Friday morning a bill that sets aside $650,000 from the Affordable Housing Fund as a grant to A0746 Lahaina L.P. for pre-development costs for a project in Nāpili.

Mayor Richard Bissen today announced the appointment of Richard E. Mitchell as Director of the County of Maui’s newly created Department of Housing, which launches July 1, 2024. The new Housing Department was created when Maui County residents voted to pass a ballot measure in November 2022 that called for bifurcating the Department of Housing and Human Concerns.

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.