9/15/2026 #kihei #SMCP
The current Kihei-Makena Community Plan was adopted in 1998. A new plan is supposed to be adopted within ten years. The plan – now called the South Maui Community Plan or SMCP – has been in the works for about six years now. The Maui Planning Department (MPD) held a number of community input meetings, prepared a draft plan and handed it off to the Community Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC), a volunteer organization of South Maui residents, in 2022. The CPAC finished its work improving the plan a year later, whereafter it went to the Maui Planning Commission (MPC) that revised it from May 2024 until March 2025. Now the plan has started its final processing sequence this week in the DRIP committee of the Maui County Council.
What has changed since the plan left the CPAC? The CPAC wanted clear, strong language to ensure development is environmentally friendly and prioritizes housing for Maui residents. The MPC and MPD changed the language from “require” and “shall” to largely “encourage” and “may” and “where practical”, e.g.
| Before | After |
| Incorporate the principles of Complete Streets for all new roadways and roadway expansion and improvement projects | When practicable incorporate the principles of Complete Streets for new roadways and roadway expansion and improvement projects |
| Affordable housing obligations must be met within the boundaries of the Community Plan subarea; credits may not be used | Encourage Affordable housing obligations be met within the boundaries of the Community Plan subarea |
The DRIP committee is meeting almost every weekday from September 14 to October 8 on the eighth floor of the County Building in Wailuku. Written testimony can be sent to DRIP.committee@mauicounty.us. Video/oral testimony can be provided at http://tinyurl.com/DRIP-Committee, or in-person, approximately every other meeting at the start of the meeting.
The most effective testimony is that which is specific (changes to one or more particular items) and delivered on a day when those items will be discussed. See https://mauicounty.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx for upcoming meetings.
The plan is to process the contents of the plan in the following order: policies, actions, growth plan (maps), introduction, appendices. Currently policies are being processed. Thursday, September 17 is likely to be the next day that live testimony is accepted.
Meetings can also be viewed live or afterwards at Akaku.
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