Multiple sources report that the Maui Planning Commission voted 5-3 this week to recommend rezoning approval for the EC Pāʻia Town project, a 170-home mixed-use development on 40 acres west of Baldwin Avenue in Pāʻia. The decision advances the project to the Maui County Council, but controversy over the developer’s plan to use private wells in an already over-tapped aquifer remains unresolved. A separate community plan amendment for the same property passed unanimously.
- The commission voted 5-3 to recommend rezoning approval; a prior motion to outright deny the project failed 2-5.
- The project includes 120 single-family units, 50 multifamily units, a medical clinic, neighborhood commercial space, and a 200-stall public parking lot intended to ease downtown Pāʻia congestion.
- 60 of the 170 homes would be income-restricted, meeting the county’s 25% affordable-housing threshold under Chapter 2.96 of the Maui County Code.
- The developer plans to use private wells and a private wastewater treatment plant rather than county systems, which already operate at or near capacity.
- State data indicates the aquifer the developer intends to tap is already being pumped beyond sustainable levels. (Hoodline)
- The project site is the former Alexander & Baldwin sugarcane and industrial mill land; Hirbod’s company purchased the underlying 339-acre parcel from A&B in December 2016 for $9.9 million. (Hoodline)
- The makai portion of the property falls within the county’s Special Management Area, requiring the project to return to the commission for an SMA permit before proceeding.
- The commission’s rezoning recommendation now goes to the Maui County Council for final action.
Sources
- Hoodline: Pāʻia’s 170-Home Project Wins County Nod, but Its Private Wells Spark a Water Fight
- Maui Now: Maui Planning Commission recommends EC Pāʻia Town project rezoning as private water source raises questions
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