Maui committee discusses land-use changes for proposed Haiku Fire Station; no vote taken

The Maui County Housing & Land Use Committee reconvened Aug. 10 to consider three related measures for the proposed Haiku Fire Station: Bill 89 (district boundary amendment), Bill 90 (community plan amendment) and Bill 91 (change in zoning) affecting about 6.1 acres of a 27.9-acre county parcel in Hamakualoa (TMK 2-2-7-007:008).

Chair Tamara Paultin told members the project would be funded with county funds and that oral testimony was closed, although written testimony remained open. "We do continue to accept written testimony," she said, noting 68 written submissions had been filed. Planning staff and project consultants from Munekiyo Hiraga, AECOM and Scientific Consulting Services were designated as resource persons for the item.

Committee members spent the session asking technical and legal questions rather than taking a vote. Planning consultant Mark Roy and AECOM engineer Diane Kodama described the scope and design constraints; Kodama confirmed the plans reserve two domestic services for the development and an additional service for an onsite fire tank. Members directed staff to provide follow-up transmittals on technical items including water-meter capacity.

Because committee members raised potential legal issues tied to historical title and Native tenant claims, the body voted to recess and to reconvene in executive session to consult with corporation counsel. Chair Paultin said the meeting would reconvene in executive session at 1:00 p.m.; the open meeting was later recessed to Aug. 24 at 9:00 a.m.