Maui County · community plan area · island of Molokaʻi
Molokaʻi
- What this area is
- One of Maui County's community plan areas, the geography the county plans by. The state's GIS layer labels it “Molokai” with plan year 2018.
- Agendas to watch
- Molokaʻi Planning Commission, and the County Council and its committees.
- On the ballot
- Every Maui County council seat and the mayor's office are on the ballot Tuesday, November 3, 2026. What the ballot decides.
- Who decides
- SMA use permits and SMA minor permits: the Molokaʻi Planning Commission decides; the director may approve only a repeat of temporary structures put up for no more than fourteen consecutive days. Changes in zoning and community plan amendments: the commission holds the public hearing and recommends; the County Council decides. Where the code and the rules say so.
- Adopted community plan
- Moloka'i Island Community Plan - Ordinance No. 4920 (2018), as amended. As Bill 108 (2026) prints the county code's list (§ 2.80B.070(C)).
- ZIP codes it overlaps
- 96729, 96748, 96757, 96770
What's happening here
The Molokaʻi Planning Commission took up a shoreline-area permit on Sept. 11 for the Hawaiian Islands Fiber Link cable project at 25 Maunaloa Highway, on behalf of the State of Hawaiʻi. [source]
Two small shoreline-area permits in Kaunakakai were approved this summer, one to relocate a container used as an office and one to clear debris from vacant land. [source]
The Ledger's brief, written Sept. 19, 2026 from the records linked. Briefs are written by the Ledger in a session from the records linked in each sentence, and dated. They say what is on the record, in plain words; they do not predict outcomes or take sides. The full list for each area follows below the brief.
See what is on the record near a particular address · New on the record across Hawaiʻi
Every record the Ledger reads that places an item in this community plan area by its tax map key or map point, newest and upcoming first, from all sources at once: county agendas and notices, state boards and the Environmental Notice. The sections below break it down by source.
Public schools
Which school serves an addressKaunakakai Elementary Elementary · grades K-6
30 Ailoa, Kaunakakai · 808.553.1730 · school website · Molokai complex
Kilohana Elementary Elementary · grades K-6
Kamehameha V Highway, Kaunakakai · 808.558.2200 · school website · Molokai complex
Kualapuu Elementary PCS Elementary · charter · grades K-6
260 Farrington Avenue, Kualapuu · 808.567.6900 · school website · Molokai complex
Maunaloa Elementary Elementary · grades K-6
Maunaloa Highway, Maunaloa · 808.552.2000 · school website · Molokai complex
Molokai High High · grades 9-12
2140 Farrington Avenue, Hoolehua · 808.567.6950 · school website · Molokai complex
Molokai Middle Middle · grades 7-8
2175 Lihipali Avenue, Hoolehua · 808.567.6940 · school website · Molokai complex
Public schools whose grounds fall in this community plan area, from the State of Hawaiʻi GIS public schools layer, read Sept. 20, 2026: the department's own names, grades, complexes and contact details. Charter schools are marked. Private schools are not listed. Which school serves a particular address is a separate question, answered by the department's attendance areas: look up an address.
Weather and ocean alerts
NWS HonoluluChecking the National Weather Service for alerts in effect…
Ocean water advisories on Molokaʻi
Checking the Department of Health…
Read live when this page opens: the National Weather Service's alerts for the forecast zones covering Molokaʻi (HIZ037, HIZ038, HIZ039, HIZ040, HIZ041), and the state Department of Health Clean Water Branch's open advisories (brown water, sewage spills, high bacteria) for the island, which the department names by beach or coastline rather than by area. Nothing here is stored or rewritten; each agency's own wording and dates are shown.
State highway lane closures
HDOT roadworkChecking the Department of Transportation's closure schedule…
Read live from the state Department of Transportation's lane closure map layer when this page opens: approved closures on state highways in and near Molokaʻi (within the area's bounding box, so a closure just outside may appear), from now through the next seven days, in the department's words. County streets are not included. Schedules can change without notice and all work is weather permitting, the department says.
Kalaupapa is its own county
The Molokaʻi area's boundary, as the state's community plan layer draws it, includes the Kalaupapa peninsula. Kalaupapa is Kalawao County: under Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes § 326-34 it “shall not be or form a portion of the county of Maui” and is under the jurisdiction and control of the Department of Health. Act 171, Session Laws of Hawaiʻi 2026, sets that to change one year after the death of the last Kalaupapa Registry patient, when, as the Department of Health describes the Act, Kalawao County would instead form a portion of the County of Maui. Nothing on this page comes from Kalawao County's own records.
Sources: HRS § 326-34 · Department of Health, Kalaupapa Updates (read Sept. 19, 2026).
Land use items that name this area
All Maui County itemsSMX2026-00042 and SM62026-00004: Special Management Area Minor Permit, 25 Maunaloa Highway, Kaunakakai Ahupuaʻa
Molokaʻi Planning Commission, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026 (held). On Molokaʻi the planning commission decides SMA minor permits (Molokaʻi Planning Commission SMA rules, § 12-302-14).
| Property name | Tax map key | Address | What the agenda lists it under |
|---|---|---|---|
| (2) 5-3-001:003 | 25 Maunaloa Highway, Kaunakakai Ahupuaʻa, Island of Molokaʻi | SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA (SMA) MINOR |
From the planning commissions' agendas read Sept. 19, 2026; names, keys and addresses are the county's. An item appears here only where the agenda names the place or prints a tax map key, and each key was checked against the State of Hawaiʻi's parcel layer.
Who represents this community plan area
County of Maui Mayor: Richard Bissen. Next election 2026.
County of Maui Councilmembers: Shane Sinenci (East Maui); Tamara Paltin (West Maui); Alice Lee (Wailuku-Waihee-Waikapu); Kauanoe Batangan (Kahului); Tom Cook (South Maui); Nohe Uu-Hodgins (Makawao-Haiku-Paia); Yuki Lei Sugimura (Upcountry); Gabe Johnson (Lanai); Keani Rawlins-Fernandez (Molokai). Next election 2026.
Maui County's councilmembers are elected countywide; each must live in the residency area shown. From the Office of Elections' Elected Officials page, read Sept. 19, 2026.
In the Environmental Notice
Every itemFrom the State of Hawaiʻi's Environmental Notice (7 issues read), in its words. An item appears here only when it prints a tax map key that falls in this community plan area.
Before state boards
All state boardsNo state board item read so far prints a tax map key in this community plan area.
From state board agendas the Ledger has read (4 so far), in the agencies' words. An item appears here only when it prints a tax map key that falls in this community plan area.
Permits the planning director reported here
All reported permitsNone of the 4 reports read so far prints a tax map key in this area.
Rows from the planning director's permit reports to the planning commissions, as the county prints them, placed here by the tax map keys each row prints. Names are the county's. The Ledger has not reviewed any application.
Planning agendas
All Maui County meetingsMolokaʻi Planning Commission
From the county's Agenda Center feeds, read Sept. 19, 2026. Bodies are matched to this area by name. Postings here are listed, not read; the agendas the Ledger has read for items are on Maui County land use.
Who lives here, by ZIP code
| ZIP code | People | Households | Median household income | Owner-occupied homes | Median age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 96757 | 881 ±326 | 227 ±78 | $74,432 ±$45,564 | 174 of 227 | 29.1 |
| 96748 | 5,609 ±850 | 1,655 ±181 | $77,422 ±$18,219 | 1,042 of 1,655 | 40.3 |
| 96770 | 501 ±172 | 219 ±76 | $54,792 ±$22,049 | 122 of 219 | 58.8 |
| 96729 | 1,670 ±306 | 453 ±86 | $59,375 ±$16,042 | 384 of 453 | 39.2 |
| All of Maui County | 164,522 | 55,841 | $97,161 | 36,638 of 55,841 | 43.2 |
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates by ZIP Code Tabulation Area, read through the Census Reporter API. Survey estimates; ± is the 90% margin of error. ZIP code areas do not follow community plan boundaries, so each row describes the ZIP, not this area. These count residents and the homes they live in, not second homes or visitor units.