#Special Management Area
County of Maui Planning Department highlights emergency activities temporarily allowed in SMA
County of Maui Department of Planning is informing property owners and residents within the Special Management Area (SMA) throughout Maui County of limited activities that are permissible due to the state’s emergency proclamation tied to the current and recent storms.
Public review begins for Front Street home in Lahaina historic district
Bourbon Neat LLC is seeking permits to build a $2.5 million single-family home on a vacant lot at 1191 Front St. in Lahaina. The project has triggered a formal environmental review due to its location within a historic landmark district. The proposed one-story, 1,830-square-foot residence includes a 600-square-foot, two-car garage and a 321-square-foot lānai. The […]
Pāʻia Youth & Cultural Center aims to demolish the old to make way for the new
Pāʻia Youth & Cultural Center’s plan to demolish its aging shoreline facility and rebuild mauka as part of a climate-resilient “managed retreat” has entered a new phase with the release of a draft environmental assessment, posted in the state’s Dec. 8 Environmental Notice.
Request for proposals issued to evaluate Maui’s Special Management Area boundary
The County of Maui Planning Department has issued a Request for Proposals for professional services to assess and provide recommendations on a potential update to the Maui Island Special Management Area Boundary.
Draft environmental assessment posted for West Maui shoreline stabilization project
A draft environmental assessment for a proposed shoreline stabilization project in West Maui is open for public comment, with a deadline of Oct. 23. The proposed project is located makai of three oceanfront homes at 4855, 4869 and 4871 Lower Honoapi‘ilani Road in Kahana. The project aims to stabilize a bluff fronting the shoreline. According […]
Property owners urged to apply for permits to rebuild nonconforming structures lost in 2023 wildfires
The County of Maui Department of Planning is encouraging property owners whose legally nonconforming structures were destroyed in the August 2023 wildfires to apply for building permits and begin the process of rebuilding.
Council gives initial approval to bill to rebuild disaster-impacted properties as they were
Maui County Council members voted 9-0 Friday morning for first-reading passage of Bill 105, which would allow disaster-impacted property owners to rebuild their homes and other structures to their original condition, even if they were decades old and didn’t meet current building codes. The measure advances to second-and-final reading.
SMA permits suspended for wildfire-impacted Lahaina properties mauka of Front Street
A waiver of special management area rules for Lahaina wildfire survivors is expected to reduce rebuilding permit processing by about a year, speeding reconstruction and economic recovery for the West Maui community impacted by the deadly Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires.
Lahaina housing: Former tenants eager to return, daunted by four-year wait
Former residents of the Lahaina Surf and Front Street Apartments — destroyed in the August 2023 wildfires — cheered when they were reassured that both affordable housing complexes would be rebuilt and that they, as residents at the time of the fires, would be given priority to return to redeveloped homes.
Bill in Hawaiʻi Legislature would speed up rebuilding of affordable housing complexes destroyed in Lahaina fire
Measure specifically targets four affordable housing projects that offered 358 units before the fire.
Judge grants summary judgment in special management area rules case
Second Circuit Judge Kirstin Hamman has granted a Maui Tomorrow Foundation motion for summary judgment in a civil case challenging Maui County’s new rules for special management area assessments and permitting procedures.
Building permits approved for reconstruction of Kahoma Village following Lahaina wildfires
The County of Maui has approved with conditions building permits for Kahoma Village to reconstruct four multi-family buildings totaling 24 units that were destroyed in the August 2023 wildfires.
Gov. Green enacts laws to protect beaches, shorelines and public land
Governor Josh Green, M.D., signed three bills into law at a signing ceremony at the Makapu‘u lookout in Waimānalo along with 14 bills signed earlier that seek to support the protection of Hawaiʻi’s beaches, shorelines and public lands.
Maui Planning Commission gives unanimous approval to new SMA and Shoreline Rules
“The updated SMA and Shoreline Rules are more balanced and flexible for homeowners, and incorporate the best available science on sea level rise to bolster coastal resilience,” said Planning Director Kathleen Ross Aoki.
New public meetings about amendments to Maui special management area and shoreline rules
The Maui County Planning Department has scheduled public meetings to discuss the latest versions of the Special Management Area and Shoreline Rules before presenting them to the Maui Planning Commission for adoption.
Maui Mayor Signs Bill Supporting Tax Relief for Kama‘āina Families with Ancestral Land
The bill aims to protect kamaʻāina from being taxed out of family land due to real estate speculation by outside investors.
Maui Planning Commission Workshop on Shoreline Rule Amendments Due to Sea Level Rise
The County of Maui Department of Planning will host a virtual workshop Jan. 26 on proposed Special Management Area and Shoreline Rule amendments that could affect properties near the shoreline on the island of Maui.
