FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release by:
Tamara Paltin, Chair
Disaster Recovery, International Affairs and Planning Committee
Maui County Council
media@mauicounty.us
Committee to meet Nov. 5 on Pulelehua and Hoʻonani Village mixed-use projects
WAILUKU, Hawai‘i (Oct. 31, 2025)—A council committee will consider bills to change a zoning condition for the Pulelehua mixed-use project in Kahana and to change the zoning and amend the Maui Island Plan for the Hoʻonani Village mixed-use project in Pu‘unēnē at separate meetings on Wednesday, Councilmember Tamara Paltin announced today.
Paltin said the Disaster Recovery, International Affairs and Planning Committee will meet at 9 a.m. to discuss a bill to amend a zoning condition for the 310-acre Pulelehua project to clarify its eligibility for Maui County Water Code exemptions. The committee will also meet at 11 a.m. to review land-use legislation for the 166.5-acre Hoʻonani Village development near Hansen Road, which would include 1,600 apartment units, with half designated as workforce housing, she said.
“The council remains dedicated to maintaining public transparency throughout the planning and approval processes,” said Paltin, who chairs the committee. “Our goal is to adhere to the layered regulatory requirements, including those set by the state Land Use Commission, while ensuring that community input and local oversight are integral components of the decision-making process.”
Paltin noted the Hoʻonani Village legislation was initiated by the council’s adoption of Resolution 25-132, FD1 on June 6. The Planning Department missed the charter-mandated 120-day deadline to schedule the project before the Maui Planning Commission, she said.
The Hoʻonani Village project was directly referred to the Disaster Recovery, International Affairs and Planning Committee earlier this month for deliberation on Bills 163, 164 and 165 (2025), Paltin said. Because the commission did not provide a recommendation within its allotted time for council-initiated land-use ordinances, the council may act but will need a supermajority of six votes to approve the bills.
On Oct. 25, 2024, the council adopted Resolution 24-174, FD1, proposing the repeal of zoning conditions 2 and 15 to facilitate the Pulelehua development, Paltin said. The Maui Planning Commission responded by recommending that condition 2 on water exemptions be amended, not repealed, and that condition 15 be retained.
Bill 132 (2025), introduced by Paltin, incorporates the commission’s advice on the amended zoning conditions for Pulelehua. On Sept. 26, the council referred the bill to her committee.
The meeting will be held online via Microsoft Teams, with an in-person component at the Council Chamber in Kalana o Maui, 200 S. High St. The meeting will be livestreamed on Akakū Channel 53, at MauiCounty.us and on the council’s Facebook page.
In-person, online and phone testimony is welcome at all meetings. Testimony instructions are on the meeting agendas, available at mauicounty.us/agendas.
For more information on the meeting and to access related documents, visit the committee’s website at https://mauicounty.us/drip.
For more information, contact committee staff at drip.committee@mauicounty.us or call the Office of Council Services at (808) 270-7664.
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