Re KIHEI PARK SHORE, 2037 S. Kihei Rd., Kihei, HI 96753; TMK: (2) 3-9-017-010

Dear Committee Chair and HLU Members,

Attached is testimony submitted on behalf of the Kihei Park Shore Association in support of amending Resolution 26-129 to include the Kihei Park Shore condominium resort for Council-initiated rezoning. The attached submission demonstrates that Kihei Park Shore satisfies the objective criteria identified by the Committee in Resolution 26-129, falling almost entirely in the 3.2-foot Sea Level Rise Exposure Area ("SLR-XA") and substantially affected by the Special Flood Hazard Area.

Our testimony also addresses comments made at the last Committee meeting on August 5, 2026, suggesting that the SLR-XA is an obsolete planning tool, and explains why the 3.2-foot SLR-XA remains as the recognized and appropriate planning criterion under current State and Maui County planning policies.

Finally, the enclosed submission reiterates the importance of clearly defining, and consistently applying objective planning criteria to all similarly situated properties so that Council-initiated rezoning decisions are grounded in transparent and rational land-use principals, rather than ad hoc, property-specific subjective determinations.

Thank you for your consideration on behalf of the Board of Directors of Kihei Park Shore.

Rebecca Krill
Principal
HI HOA LAW LLLC
rebecca@hihoalaw.com

My name is not included in this version. This testimony is written on behalf of the 41 short-term-rental units at Lahaina Roads and focuses on the property’s eligibility, lawful operating history, and request for inclusion in the applicable resolutions.

Testimony

Good morning, Chair and Members of the Maui County Council.

I am speaking on behalf of the 41 short-term-rental units at Lahaina Roads, located at 1403 Front Street in Lahaina.

Lahaina Roads is located within the applicable SLR-XA or Flood Hazard Zone and meets the requirements for consideration under Resolutions 26-129 and 26-130. However, Lahaina Roads and its 41 units were not included in the original resolutions or in the subsequent amendments presented to the Council.

We respectfully ask the Council to recognize that Lahaina Roads meets the applicable criteria and should be included in the appropriate resolution or a subsequent amendment.

Lahaina Roads is an established condominium property with a decades-long history of lawful short-term-rental operation. This use is not new or speculative. The property has operated lawfully under the County’s applicable requirements, and its established legal history should be considered when the Council evaluates the properties covered by these resolutions.

We support moving forward through the applicable rezoning process. We are not asking to bypass the County’s procedures. We are asking that Lahaina Roads be included so the property can proceed through the same process available to other properties that meet the established criteria.

We respectfully request that the Council:

Confirm that Lahaina Roads meets the applicable requirements.
Include Lahaina Roads and its 41 short-term-rental units in Resolution 26-129, Resolution 26-130, or an appropriate subsequent amendment.
Recognize Lahaina Roads’ decades-long history of lawful short-term-rental operation.
Allow Lahaina Roads to move forward through the applicable rezoning process.
Ensure that Lahaina Roads is not excluded simply because it was omitted from the original resolutions.
Lahaina Roads meets the applicable requirements, has a longstanding lawful history, and should be considered for inclusion. We respectfully ask the Council to correct this omission and include Lahaina Roads in the resolution.

Thank you for allowing me to testify.

Aloha Committee Chair and members,

In transitioning from this morning’s HLU Committee meeting regarding the rezoning of coastal properties from apartment to hotel use to this DRIP Committee meeting regarding the Lahaina Long-Term Recovery Plan and specifically its housing needs, I would like to provide this testimony as a possible solution for the Office of Recovery to explore.

There are approximately 2,000 short-term rental condominium units within the Sea Level Rise Exposure Area (SLR-XA) in West Maui. Because of their location within the SLR-XA, these units are being proposed for rezoning to hotel use. However, I would argue that if these units are not being used for their originally intended purpose, housing for our local workforce and families then they should either be demolished, with their water and sewer allocations freed up for new, safe, affordable housing built outside of hazard zones, or acquired by the County or State for limited-time occupancy by residents. As we heard in today’s presentation, the lack of infrastructure is an impediment to developing new housing.

During the last legislative session, Senate Bill 3034, which did not move forward, proposed the voluntary acquisition of vulnerable coastal properties at a hazard-adjusted residual value. That value accounts for the future costs of demolition, hazard remediation, monitoring, and shoreline restoration.

A property could remain occupied temporarily by Maui residents through short-term, renewable leases only while it remains safe. Further expansion, capital investment, and shoreline armoring would be prohibited. When occupancy is no longer safe, the structure would be removed, redevelopment prohibited, and the shoreline restored.

The proposed bill also allows counties, nonprofit organizations, and land trusts to help manage these properties.

Maui County could partner with an organization such as the Lahaina Community Land Trust to acquire properties with some years of safe occupancy remaining and rent the units temporarily to Maui residents. This would provide time-limited housing without misleading local families into investing their life savings in properties with no secure long-term future.

Rental revenue could help fund inspections, management, eventual demolition, and shoreline restoration. This would also interrupt the cycle of continued investment in aging buildings and failing seawalls, followed by demands for emergency permits, public subsidies, and taxpayer-funded cleanup.

I urge this body to begin this discussion and request that the Office of Recovery evaluate this concept as part of its plans for housing in West Maui.

I will also note that the County of Maui’s current Hoʻokumu Hou program, which provides substantial down-payment assistance for fire-affected families purchasing homes, restricts residents from using those funds to purchase shoreline and flood-zone properties. I support that restriction. However, perhaps a County-initiated program based on SB 3034 could instead allow for County or land trust acquisition of these imperiled condominium properties, followed by safe, time-limited occupancy for Maui residents.

Mahalo,

Kai Nishiki
Maui Nui Resiliency Hui