The South Maui Community Plan at the Planning Commission March 4, 2025

3/2/2025 #kihei #smcp #mpc #southmaui

The Maui Planning Commission (MPC) will be holding two sessions tomorrow, Tuesday, March 4, to finish its review of the South Maui Community Plan (MPC).

The 9am-2pm session will finish up the review of the maps (land use designations for all parts of South Maui) and start on the actions and appendices. Oral testimony will be allowed for those who did not testify last time. The list of those who did testify last time is here:

https://www.mauicounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/151784/030425-Agenda-Item-Recessed-B1_SMCP_3_-Testifiers-List-02_18_25—Google-Sheets

All topics are open for the 2pm-7pm session and anyone can testify. The intent is to complete the review of all parts and send off the plan to the County Council for the final phase of the process.

Link to attend the 9am session and testify:
https://mauicounty.webex.com/mauicounty/j.php?MTID=m1be77c3d62dd818435fc9bcffb0ef78d

Link to attend the 2pm session and testify:
https://mauicounty.webex.com/mauicounty/j.php?MTID=m8260d0ba49ec67c849e3e1e2a7f8973f

The main sections of the SCMP are:

• Policies (section 2) – they provide guidance to the Planning Department and Planning Commission when making decisions affecting South Maui
• Maps (section 3) – they indicate what type of development is appropriate for every parcel of South Maui, or if some should be left as open space
• Actions (section 4) – they are things the South Maui community wants the government to implement

In the maps section, changes made by the MPC to the plan include:

• Changing Piilani Promenade – four parcels between the ‘Ohukai center and the High School – from Residential to Small Town Center, allowing for commercial development
• Reducing the setback of Piilani Promenade buildings from Piilani Highway from 150′ to 50′

• Removing the requirement at the mauka edge of the huge planned Kihei Mauka development for a “200’ wide land area within the Mauka growth boundary for a continuous greenbelt that shall act as a multi-use greenway and open space connection between neighborhoods that coordinates with the mauka to makai open spaces. This also allows for a firebreak and fire fighting access road as well as a possible continuous future parkway”
• Removing the requirement for entrance/exit roads in Kihei Mauka prior to first occupancy

In the policies section (for the afternoon session), changes made include:

• Removing the requirement (which was also in the 1998 Kihei-Makena Community Plan) that infrastructure be provided prior to or concurrent with development. Infrastructure includes roads, water and sewage, among other things
• Removing the requirement that affordable housing requirements be fulfilled within a new development area
• Removing the requirement that credits not be used to avoid affordable housing requirements in South Maui

2.2.21 | Encourage a greater percentage of affordable housing than required by law in all residential projects, unless the project is to be developed exclusively as an affordable housing project. Encourage Affordable housing obligations must be met within the boundaries of the Community Plan subarea; credits may not be used.

2.2.37 | Upon adoption of this plan, allow no further development unless infrastructure, public facilities, and services needed to service new development are available prior to or concurrent with the impacts of new development.