Maui’s Urban Design Review Board is being flagged as a redundant bottleneck in the Lahaina wildfire recovery permitting process. A county cost review recommends abolishing the volunteer board, citing duplicated staff work and frequent quorum failures.
- The Urban Design Review Board must provide advisory input on Special Management Area permits, adding a layer to an already slow permitting process for Lahaina rebuilds.
- The Maui Cost of Government Commission recommends repealing the UDRB, noting the Planning Department already performs the same reviews and no other Hawaii county has a similar board.
- In 2024, the UDRB failed to meet quorum and canceled meetings in 9 out of 12 months, forcing applicants to wait longer for permit hearings.
- Real examples show months-long delays: one Lahaina Front Street SMA permit took from January to August 2026 to receive final approval.
- Eliminating the board could free up Planning Department staff capacity to reduce the broader backlog of permitting work across all boards and commissions.
Source: Maui News
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