What is the Community Plan?

The community plan is meant to represent the will of the people. It sends a clear mandate to our County government and planning department on what the community wants and expects to see happen in our area for the next several decades.

These documents are the result of dozens of community meetings, stakeholder inputs, and planning discussions. The Community plan, is one of 9 such plans on Maui that govern development decisions and inform all new construction on Maui. Some parts of the community Plan are considered law and govern things like any developments in SMA areas. There is currently a new Community plan in the making that might take about a year to complete. Meanwhile, we are governed by the last plan, which was released in 1998.

Most of what you will read in the plan is applicable today, but sadly many of the ideals and goals in the plan have yet to materialize. You might notice a lot of incongruity with the recent actions and decisions of the planning department, and County Council. Remember that the Community Plan, is the people’s plan, And we, the community, make the plan.

It is up to us to hold the County accountable with our plan. And not let them diminish its importance, in protecting our wishes and our needs.   

Purpose of the Kihei-Makena Community Plan
The Kihei-Makena Community Plan, one of nine (9) community plans for Maui County, reflects current and anticipated conditions in the Kihei-Makena region and advances planning goals, objectives, policies, and implementation considerations to guide decision-making in the region through the year 2010. The Kihei-Makena Community Plan provides specific recommendations to address the goals, objectives, and policies contained in the General Plan, while recognizing the values and unique attributes of the Kihei-Makena area in order to enhance the region’s overall living environment.

LAND USE
Goal
A well-planned community with land use and development patterns designed to achieve the efficient and timely provision of infrastructural and community needs while preserving and enhancing the unique character of Ma`alaea, Kihei, Wailea and Makena as well as the region’s natural environment, marine resources and traditional shoreline uses.

Objectives and Policies

a. Acquire beachfront properties for public use.
b. Identify priority growth areas to focus public and private efforts on the provision of infrastructure and amenities to serve existing residents and to accommodate new growth.
c. 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.
d. Limit hotel uses to those areas presently planned for hotel use, and limit hotel development until adequate public facilities and services are established to meet existing needs.
e. Establish a system of parks, utility easements, shoreline areas, drainageways, and wetlands as an open space framework for the
urban areas of the region, i.e. where structures exist or are planned to exist, and provide an integrated system of pedestrian and bicycle
paths.

https://www.mauicounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1712/Kihei-Makena-Community-Plan-1998