A proposed new fire station in Haiku has been stalled by a contested land ownership dispute, prompting the Maui County Council committee to seek legal counsel and postpone any vote until August 24. The 17-year-in-the-making project requires rezoning approvals before construction can begin.
- The Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee delayed action on three rezoning bills needed to break ground on the 6.1-acre Haiku Fire Station project.
- A land title dispute over the county-owned parcel in Hamakualoa triggered a closed executive session before the committee recessed until August 24.
- The fire station would improve emergency response times to hard-to-reach areas of East Maui, where Paia firefighters can currently be up to two hours away from their district on certain calls.
- A county ‘standard of cover’ study identified Haiku as one of several prominent locations in need of a new fire station.
- Native Hawaiian traditional and customary rights concerns have also been raised in public testimony against the project.
Source: Maui Now
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