Maui County Committee Meeting – Oct. 19, 2026: Bill 133 Safe Parking and Vehicle Habitation Discussion

On Monday, October 19, 2026, from 9:01 a.m. to 11:32 a.m., the Maui County Council's Water, Social Services and Parks Committee met to discuss Bill 133 (2026), which would amend Maui County Code Chapter 10.76 (parking lots and piers) to expand county properties eligible for temporary vehicle habitation and reduce barriers for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. No agenda or minutes were available in the source material; this summary is based on the raw transcript. The committee heard from Department of Human Concerns Director Maggie Willis, First Deputy Corporation Counsel Miby De Jardines, and representatives from the Maui Police Department and the Managing Director's Office.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Clark Johnson (private citizen) expressed support for using county parks for safe parking because infrastructure such as toilets, water, and parking already exists; recommended Department of Human Concerns manage the program; and asked how sites would be patrolled and where people would go during daytime hours.
• Stitch Gordon (resident) agreed that existing beach park lots should be considered, questioned spending on a remote site, and raised safety concerns for women and children; he also asked what is being done for people whose vehicles are not operational.
• Lisa Darcy (Hawaii Public Housing Authority board member, Sherry Armana director, and former Healing Solutions for Homelessness Commission member) expressed significant concerns: she said the bill removes transparency and accountability, recalled Tent City as a disaster, argued the council was not prepared to act without lived-experience input, and urged a slower, bottom-up process.
• Lori J (former seven-month Tent City worker with personal connections to unsheltered people) supported safe parking but raised liability questions about waiving insurance and registration checks, asked about vehicle-size limits and transportation after hours, and promised to submit detailed written concerns.
• A caller identifying as Kanaka Kamaina (last four digits 4945) offered roughly 99.9% support for Director Willis, urged letting the department act quickly without lawyers slowing the process, and included unrelated complaints about the elections office.
• Travis Liggett (formerly unsheltered, 2020–2026) urged passage of the Hanai Kakou Act, said some unsheltered people were harmed by police-protected drug supplies, and argued the county should not judge people's choices given systemic failures.
• Jim Langford said he was neutral on the bill, offered technical advice, and suggested assigning each council member one of about nine approaches to homelessness to create actionable follow-through.
• Faith Chase expressed discouragement and frustration, criticized the effort as too small and poorly timed before an election, and pointed to lawsuits against the county and state and related settlements as models the county was ignoring.

Discussion Items

• Bill 133 status and purpose: The bill passed first reading on October 9, 2026, and was before the committee as a discussion item; members noted amendments could not be made in this session. Willis said the existing safe parking pilot requirements were too high for people living along Pulehu Road, so the bill would allow a temporary, lower-barrier site.
• Proposed changes: De Jardines explained that Bill 133 would expand eligibility from county parking lots to county-owned or managed parcels, allow 24-hour habitation instead of only 7 p.m.–7 a.m., and remove compliance with county, state, and federal rules as a precondition for entering the site. She said HRS 291C-133 leaves regulation of vehicle habitation to the counties.
• Temporary Pulehu-area site: Willis said the first temporary site is a county parcel south of Hansen Road, about three-quarters of a mile from Pulehu Road. It would include grading, porta potties, hand-washing stations, potable water, lighting, and 24/7 private security with planned trauma-informed and cultural competency training. The site is expected to serve 50–60 people; the current census along Pulehu Road is about 45–50. The program is estimated to operate for six months, with DHC managing the site and nonprofit partners providing rotating services.
• Separate permanent safe parking pilot: Willis clarified that the previously awarded AGON-operated permanent safe parking site in Kahului remains in development after flood-related delays and will serve a different population with higher requirements.
• Questions and concerns: Members asked about administrative rulemaking authority, liability for unregistered and uninsured vehicles, ADA accessibility and accommodations, permits and emergency declarations, zoning for transitional housing, whether parks could be used, how belongings would be handled during relocation, and how nonparticipants would be addressed. Vice Chair Johnson also cited a May 13, 2026 Maui Now article: the January 25, 2026 point-in-time count found 651 people experiencing homelessness in Maui County; unsheltered homelessness rose from 285 to 398 (a 40% increase), sheltered homelessness dropped from 369 to 253 (a 31% decrease), veteran homelessness increased 53% (from 15 to 23), and family homelessness rose from 59 to 61 families.

Key Outcomes

• The committee took no vote and made no amendments; Bill 133 was deferred to its scheduled second reading on the following Friday.
• Staff indicated non-substantive cleanup of the bill would be prepared for second reading.
• The administration agreed to clarify public confusion about the permanent Kahului safe parking site and to consider additional site suggestions, including one offered by Member Poulton.
• Director Willis welcomed follow-up input and said DHC would work with providers to create pathways for obtaining IDs, insurance, and vehicle registration.
• Per the ordinance, the council must review the section within 12 months after commencement of a pilot project.