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Record of Proceedings

Maui County Council Public Hearing on Lahaina Historic District - February 4, 2026

County Council & Committees — Wednesday, February 4, 2026
BodyMaui County, Hawaii
SessionCounty Council & Committees
DateWednesday, February 4, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Good afternoon, Councilmembers, staff, and members of the public.

0:05

The February 3, 2026 public hearing will now come to order.

0:09

Ms.

0:09

Clerk, please proceed with roll call.

0:12

Vice Chair Yuki Lee Sugi Mura.

0:14

Here.

0:15

Councilmember Tom Collin.

0:17

Here.

0:18

Council Member County Rollins Fernandez.

0:22

Alohawina La.

0:25

Yeah, so Alina La.

0:27

Councilmember Tamara Poulton.

0:29

Alohawaka.

0:32

Councilmember Nohi Lani Uuhajans.

0:35

Aloha.

0:36

Councilmember Shane Senansi.

0:38

Excuse.

0:40

Councilmember Gabe Johnson.

0:42

Excused.

0:43

And Council Chair Alice Lee.

0:45

Hello, everyone.

0:48

I'm also here.

0:51

So I'm so sorry.

0:54

Oh no, I bet I was obsessed with the woman sitting next to you.

1:03

Councilmember Kawanoy Batangan.

1:06

Aloha Coxo.

1:08

Chair, you have seven members present, two members excused.

1:11

There is a quorum present.

1:12

You have to business aid with council.

1:14

For the record, I'm the County Clerk Moana Luty, and seated next to me is Deputy Clerk Rochelle Thompson, and next to her is our uh director of council services, David Rotts joining us from our office, our legislative division staff, Joyce Morishige, Lawrence Saldana, Joey Yoshida, Arthur Suyama, and Edgar.

1:35

Oh my gosh, Yoshida.

1:37

I just had a mental for it there, sorry.

1:41

We're ready to proceed, China.

1:44

I'm joining from the Office of Council Services.

1:47

You already said that.

1:48

Okay.

1:49

I just missed that one of our council members.

1:51

Okay.

1:54

Before we proceed with today's agenda, may I please request that everyone put their telephone on silent.

2:02

We will be accepting oral and written testimony at this time.

2:05

Each testifier will be allowed to speak for up to three minutes.

2:09

The quorum shall be maintained at all times.

2:13

Any person who behaves in a manner that disrupts, disturbs, or impedes the orderly conduct of any council meeting can at the discretion of the presiding officer or a majority of present council members be ejected or banned from council meetings.

2:30

Examples of disruptive behavior include, but are not limited to heckling, shouting, use of profanity, threatening or slanderous remarks made to any member of the council staff or general public.

2:43

Ms.

2:44

Clerk, please proceed.

3:08

Yeah.

3:10

Good afternoon.

3:12

I'm here to say that I think three stories for the historic district exceeds the desire of the majority of people that respect the historic district.

3:24

And I think we've been through enough.

3:26

I think an exemption would be appropriate for individual buildings.

3:34

But from the standpoint of the character of La Haina storic area.

3:48

And I was a resident.

3:54

But my late husband had a business for over 30 years on Front Street in the historic district.

4:01

And I think we were the last shop to have mutton windows because most other tenants took them out without permission.

4:11

So it's important for their character.

4:14

As far as the three-story front street apartments, I think they should also put in elevators because I'm elderly.

4:22

I can do the stairs now, but another time maybe not so.

4:27

So I think that that that might be something you would consider as appropriate for senior buildings.

4:37

Buildings primarily for people of age.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Historic Preservation█████████████████████████████████████████████54%
Procedural██████████████████████████████████████46%
Summary of Proceedings

Maui County Council Public Hearing on Lahaina Historic District - February 4, 2026

This public hearing was called to order on February 4, 2026, at 9:00 AM (though the raw transcript states the meeting was gaveled in on February 3, 2026). Seven council members were present (Vice Chair Yuki Lee Sugi Mura, Councilmember Tom Collin, Councilmember County Rollins Fernandez, Councilmember Tamara Poulton, Councilmember Nohi Lani Uuhajans, Councilmember Gabe Johnson excused, Councilmember Shane Senansi excused, Council Chair Alice Lee, and Councilmember Kawanoy Batangan), forming a quorum. The sole agenda item pertained to proposed three-story buildings in the Lahaina Historic District, with only one member of the public providing oral testimony. No testimony was received from any other party, and the hearing was adjourned after public comment.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Unidentified Female Speaker (former resident, late husband had a business on Front Street for over 30 years): Stated that three-story buildings in the historic district exceed the desires of the majority who respect the historic character. Supported exemptions for individual buildings but opposed a general height increase. Also urged that any three-story apartments on Front Street include elevators to accommodate elderly residents, as she is elderly and may not always be able to use stairs. Clarified that she is no longer an active board member of the Lahaina RS 13 (likely the Lahaina Restoration Society or similar historic board) and cannot speak on its behalf; had only spoken with Theo about the agenda beforehand. No other members of the public testified.

Key Outcomes

  • No decisions or votes were taken during this hearing; it was solely a public comment session. The hearing was adjourned after oral testimony closed.
  • Conflict Note: The instruction specified the meeting date as February 4, 2026, but the raw transcript opens with “The February 3, 2026 public hearing will now come to order.” This discrepancy is noted; the date used in the title follows the instruction, while the transcript reflects February 3, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, Councilmembers, staff, and members of the public. The February 3, 2026 public hearing will now come to order. Ms. Clerk, please proceed with roll call. Vice Chair Yuki Lee Sugi Mura. Here. Councilmember Tom Collin. Here. Council Member County Rollins Fernandez. Alohawina La. Yeah, so Alina La. Councilmember Tamara Poulton. Alohawaka. Councilmember Nohi Lani Uuhajans. Aloha. Councilmember Shane Senansi. Excuse. Councilmember Gabe Johnson. Excused. And Council Chair Alice Lee. Hello, everyone. I'm also here. So I'm so sorry. Oh no, I bet I was obsessed with the woman sitting next to you. Councilmember Kawanoy Batangan. Aloha Coxo. Chair, you have seven members present, two members excused. There is a quorum present. You have to business aid with council. For the record, I'm the County Clerk Moana Luty, and seated next to me is Deputy Clerk Rochelle Thompson, and next to her is our uh director of council services, David Rotts joining us from our office, our legislative division staff, Joyce Morishige, Lawrence Saldana, Joey Yoshida, Arthur Suyama, and Edgar. Oh my gosh, Yoshida. I just had a mental for it there, sorry. We're ready to proceed, China. I'm joining from the Office of Council Services. You already said that. Okay. I just missed that one of our council members. Okay. Before we proceed with today's agenda, may I please request that everyone put their telephone on silent. We will be accepting oral and written testimony at this time. Each testifier will be allowed to speak for up to three minutes. The quorum shall be maintained at all times. Any person who behaves in a manner that disrupts, disturbs, or impedes the orderly conduct of any council meeting can at the discretion of the presiding officer or a majority of present council members be ejected or banned from council meetings. Examples of disruptive behavior include, but are not limited to heckling, shouting, use of profanity, threatening or slanderous remarks made to any member of the council staff or general public. Ms. Clerk, please proceed. Yeah. Good afternoon. I'm here to say that I think three stories for the historic district exceeds the desire of the majority of people that respect the historic district. And I think we've been through enough.

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