Maui County · land use
Maui County land use
Items from the agendas of the Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi planning commissions, in the county's words. The record starts with 4 agendas read Sept. 19, 2026: Maui Planning Commission, Sept. 22, 2026; Molokaʻi Planning Commission, Sept. 23, 2026; Lānaʻi Planning Commission, Sept. 16, 2026; Molokaʻi Planning Commission special meeting, Sept. 11, 2026 (agenda and summary minutes).
Items on file
From the agenda PDFs in the county's Agenda Center, read Sept. 19, 2026. Headings, file numbers, names and addresses are the county's. An item is placed in a community plan area only where the agenda names the place or prints a tax map key; each key was then checked against the State of Hawaiʻi's parcel layer. The Ledger has not reviewed staff reports or application materials and takes no position on any item.
Permits the planning director reported
All 16 rows16 rows from 4 of the director's reports: SMA Minor Permit Report (08/26/26 to 09/11/26) (2); SMA Exemptions Report (08/26/26 to 09/11/26) (9); Completed Applications Report (3); Open Applications Report (2). Each row is on the page of the community plan area its tax map keys fall in.
The agendas read
Molokaʻi Planning Commission, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, 11:00 AM
Interactive conference technology via TEAMS. Public location, as printed: Current Planning Division Conference Room, One Main Plaza, 2200 Main Street, Suite 619, Wailuku. Agenda (PDF, 8 pages) · the county's posting. Next meeting, as printed: October 28, 2026.
- Resolution No. 26-68, CD1: a bill amending Title 19 to require notice for proposed agricultural subdivisions
- Also on the agenda, as printed: B. COMMUNICATIONS 1. Title 19 Rewrite Project Update (S. Forsythe) · Presentation
- Also on the agenda, as printed: C. DIRECTOR’S REPORT 1. Agenda items for future meetings. a. Intent to cancel October 14, 2026 meeting.
- Also on the agenda, as printed: 2. Completed Molokaʻi Applications Report generated by the Planning Department with the September 23,2026 –NONE
- Also on the agenda, as printed: 3. Proposed meeting Schedule for calendar year 2027. Commission may accept or modify the proposed meeting schedule. · Proposed Meeting Schedule
Maui Planning Commission, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, 9:00 A.M.
REGULAR REMOTE PUBLIC MEETING; Interactive conference technology via Microsoft Teams. Public location, as printed: Planning Department Conference Room, Kalana Pakui Building, 250 South High Street, Wailuku. Agenda (PDF, 14 pages) · the county's posting (the county lists 3 earlier versions of this agenda). Next meeting, as printed: October 13, 2026.
- ZPA2026-00003 and ZPA2026-00004: Council Resolutions 26-110 and 26-111
- Also on the agenda, as printed: B. DIRECTOR’S REPORT 1. SMA Minor Permit Report (08/26/26 to 09/11/26) This is for notification and review purposes. No action is anticipated. · SMA Minor Permit Report (08/26/26 to 09/11/26
- Also on the agenda, as printed: 2. SMA Exemptions Report (08/26/26 to 09/11/26) This is for notification and review purposes. No action is anticipated. · SMA Exemptions Report (08/26/26 to 09/11/26
Lānaʻi Planning Commission, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026
The first page of this PDF gave up no text, so the meeting's time and place were not read. Agenda (PDF, 7 pages) · the county's posting. Next meeting, as printed: OCTOBER 21, 2026.
- Resolution No. 26-68, CD1: a bill amending Title 19 to require notice for proposed agricultural subdivisions
- Also on the agenda, as printed: B. DIRECTOR’S REPORT 1. Completed and Open Lānaʻi Applications Report (Permits from the period of 08/05/26 to 09/04/26.) · Completed Applications Report · Open Applications Report
- Also on the agenda, as printed: 2. Proposed meeting schedule for calendar year 2027. The Commission may accept or modify the proposed schedule. · Proposed 2027 Schedule
- Also on the agenda, as printed: 3. Status of SMA Minor Permit Rule Amendments (Requested by Chair Gima)
- Also on the agenda, as printed: 4. Agenda items for the October 21, 2026 meeting.
Molokaʻi Planning Commission, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, 11:00 AM
Special Meeting; Interactive conference technology via TEAMS. Agenda (PDF, 8 pages) · summary minutes · the county's posting. Next meeting, as printed: SEPTEMBER 23, 2026.
- SMX2026-00042 and SM62026-00004: Special Management Area Minor Permit, 25 Maunaloa Highway, Kaunakakai Ahupuaʻa
- Also on the agenda, as printed: B. DIRECTOR’S REPORT 2. Completed Molokaʻi Applications Report generated by the Planning Department with the September 11,2026 –NONE
The county's agendas are printed in English and Hawaiian; the Ledger copies the English. The rows of the director's permit reports linked above are on permits the planning director reported.
Who decides what
| Kind of application | Who hears it and who decides | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|
| Special management area (SMA) use permits | The planning commission for the island decides, after a public hearing: the Maui, Molokaʻi or Lānaʻi Planning Commission. For applications in the Hāna Community Plan region, the Maui commission's rules designate the Hāna Advisory Committee to conduct the public hearing. | Maui Planning Commission SMA rules, § 12-202-15(d) and (f); Molokaʻi Planning Commission SMA rules, § 12-302-15(f); Lānaʻi Planning Commission SMA rules, § 12-402-15(g) |
| SMA minor permits | On Maui and on Lānaʻi the planning director decides and notifies the commission at its next regularly scheduled meeting. On Molokaʻi the commission decides; its rules let the director approve only a repeat of temporary structures and uses put up for no more than fourteen consecutive days. The Lānaʻi commission's agenda for Sept. 16, 2026 lists “Status of SMA Minor Permit Rule Amendments,” so that rule may be under revision. | § 12-202-14 (Maui); § 12-302-14 (Molokaʻi); § 12-402-14 (Lānaʻi) |
| Changes in zoning | The planning commission for the island conducts the public hearing and prepares a report with its findings and recommendations; the planning director transmits it to the County Council, and the council may grant the change if the code's criteria are met. | Maui County Code § 19.510.040 |
| Community plan amendments | Proposed amendments are referred to the planning commission for findings and recommendations; the County Council reviews and acts. Before approving an amendment to a community plan enacted under section 2.80B.090, the council holds a public hearing in that community plan area. | Maui County Code § 2.80B.100; § 2.80B.110 |
As the Maui Planning Commission agenda for Sept. 22, 2026 prints it: “APPLICATIONS FOR COMMUNITY PLAN AMENDMENT, STATE DISTRICT BOUNDARY RECLASSIFICATION, CHANGE IN ZONING, AND CONDITIONAL PERMIT REQUIRE THE APPROVAL OF THE MAUI COUNTY COUNCIL.”
Read Sept. 19, 2026: the Maui County Code on Municode (Supplement 76); the special management area rules of the three planning commissions, in the copies posted on the county's pages; the Planning Department's page for each body; and the commissions' own agendas. Not yet verified: The county charter's own text (the code cites charter sections 8-8.4 and 8-8.6; Municode carries the charter as “reserved”). Whether the rule copies posted on the county's pages are the latest adopted: the Molokaʻi copy's history notes run to 8/5/99 and the Lānaʻi copy says Eff. January 30, 1994; the Maui copy says amended and compiled 08/25/24. The South Maui Advisory Committee's role. Conditional permits, special use permits, state district boundary amendments, variances and shoreline setback matters: not read.