Council Delays Maui Island Plan Yet Again

From an article at Maui News

County Council members decided unanimously Thursday to hold off from taking up the potentially controversial land use portion of the Maui Island Plan.

Staff from the county Department of Planning made several changes to the bill before Thursday’s meeting, and those changes had not been posted in time for public review before the meeting.

Committee Chairwoman Gladys Baisa said that the delay wasn’t necessarily a reflection of the changes, but she said it would be prudent to give everyone more time to get caught up with the revised materials.

Among potentially contentious issues in the land use portion of the plan is the Olowalu Town project, with its developers arguing to have it included in the island plan’s urban-growth boundaries, although it is not adjacent to any major population area.

Critics call it urban sprawl while advocates say Olowalu Town would re-create the small-town atmosphere the West Maui area had years ago with homes, shopping areas, schools, and police and fire stations