HLU-20 Reso 26-129 RESOLUTION 26-129, REFERRING TO THE MAUI PLANNING COMMISSION PROPOSED BILLS TO AMEND THE KIHEI-MAKENA COMMUNITY PLAN AND WEST MAUI COMMUNITY PLAN, AND TO CHANGE THE ZONING FOR A-1 AND A-2 APARTMENT DISTRICT PROPERTIES IN THE SEA LEVEL RISE EXPOSURE AREA (HLU-20)
To: Councilmember Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins, Chair, Housing and Land Use (HLU) Committee Councilmember Thomas Cook, Vice-Chair Members of the Housing and Land Use Committee Maui County Council
From: Volker C. Joehnk President, Board of Directors, Kihei Resort AOAO Owner, Kihei Resort
Date: August 24, 2026
Re: STRONG SUPPORT for Resolution 26-129 and Councilmember Cook’s Amendment (Aug 5, 2026) to Include Kihei Resort
Aloha Chair Uʻu-Hodgins, Vice-Chair Cook, and Committee Members,
My name is Volker C. Joehnk. I am writing to you today as a Maui resident, small business owner, and the President of the Board of Directors for the Kihei Resort Association of Apartment Owners (AOAO).
I am submitting this testimony to express our Kihei Resort community's overwhelming support for Resolution 26-129 and to respectfully urge the committee to adopt the Amendment Summary Form introduced by Councilmember Thomas Cook on August 5th, which explicitly adds Kihei Resort (TMK 3-9-001:136) to the list of properties transitioning to the H-3/H-4 Hotel District.
Our community is thoroughly unified on this issue. In July 2026, our AOAO conducted a formal owner vote resulting in a decisive 93.4% approval to petition Maui County for this exact hotel zoning designation.
The environmental and infrastructural realities of our location make our complex fundamentally unsuitable for long-term residential housing. As detailed in my written testimonies, the surrounding area suffers from chronic failing infrastructure, including heavily burdened power, water, and sewage systems, which are compounded by severe and frequent flooding of South Kihei Road. Given these escalating environmental and infrastructural challenges, our operational projections estimate that the functional lifecycle of Kihei Resort is effectively shortened to the year 2046.
We fully understand that the H-3/H-4 zoning protects our transient accommodation use but does not exempt us from the Maui Planning Commission's Shoreline Setback and Special Management Area (SMA) rules. We remain fully committed to responsible shoreline and property management for the remaining lifespan of the complex.
We are immensely grateful to Councilmember Cook for recognizing Kihei Resort's eligibility under the Sea Level Rise Exposure Area guidelines and officially introducing our property into the discussion.
We respectfully request that the HLU Committee formally adopt Councilmember Cook's amendment and vote to pass Resolution 26-129 forward with Kihei Resort securely included.
Mahalo for your time, your service to Maui County, and your dedication to finding balanced solutions for our community.
Sincerely,
Volker C. Joehnk President, Board of Directors Kihei Resort AOAO
From: Natia Barber <natiabarber@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2026 7:13 PM
To: Maui_County Council_mailbox <county.council@mauicounty.us>
Subject: OPPOSE Resolutions 26-129 and 26-130.
You don't often get email from natiabarber@gmail.com. Learn why this is important
Aloha Chair Uʻu-Hodgins and Members of the Housing and Land Use Committee,
My name is Natia Barber, and I am writing in strong opposition to Resolutions 26-129 and 26-130.
I am concerned that redesignating apartment-zoned properties as Hotel or Resort/Hotel in order to preserve transient vacation rental use moves Maui in the wrong direction at a time when residents continue to face serious housing pressures.
Apartment zoning should first and foremost serve Maui’s residential needs. Converting these properties into hotel districts may protect the economic interests of individual vacation-rental owners, but it also risks permanently removing properties from Maui’s potential long-term residential housing supply.
Tourism is an important part of Maui’s economy, but economic resilience also requires balance. Maui should be working toward an economy that supports residents, strengthens local industries, keeps workers on island, and reduces dependence on systems that prioritize visitor demand over the basic needs of the community.
Housing is a fundamental part of that economic resilience. Local businesses, schools, farms, healthcare providers, restaurants, and other essential industries cannot function without workers who can afford to live on Maui. When housing is increasingly treated as visitor accommodation rather than residential infrastructure, the effects extend far beyond the housing market and into Maui’s entire workforce and economy.
I am also concerned about establishing a precedent in which properties currently zoned for apartments can be redesignated as hotel properties primarily because they have historically operated as vacation rentals. Land-use decisions should reflect Maui’s long-term community needs rather than simply preserve an existing commercial use.
I respectfully ask the Committee to oppose Resolutions 26-129 and 26-130 and instead prioritize policies that preserve residentially zoned properties for Maui residents and strengthen the island’s long-term economic and community resilience.
From: Maui Accessible Condo <mauiaccessiblecondo@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2026 4:54 PM
To: HLU Committee <HLU.Committee@mauicounty.us>
Subject: SUPPORT – Resolution 26-129 / Makani A Kai
[You don't often get email from mauiaccessiblecondo@gmail.com. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification ]
Dear Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee
I am the owner of Unit A-2, Makani A Kai, 300 Hau'oli Street in Māʻalaea. I strongly support adding Makani A Kai to Resolution 26-129. Makani A Kai is within the County-recognized Sea Level Rise Exposure Area and meets the criterion established for properties being considered under Resolution 26-129. I respectfully ask the Committee to apply that criterion consistently and include Makani A Kai in the resolution for referral to the Maui Planning Commission.
To: Councilmember Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins, Chair, Housing and Land Use (HLU) Committee Councilmember Thomas Cook, Vice-Chair Members of the Housing and Land Use Committee Maui County Council
From: Volker C. Joehnk President, Board of Directors, Kihei Resort AOAO Owner, Kihei Resort
Date: August 24, 2026
Re: STRONG SUPPORT for Resolution 26-129 and Councilmember Cook’s Amendment (Aug 5, 2026) to Include Kihei Resort
Aloha Chair Uʻu-Hodgins, Vice-Chair Cook, and Committee Members,
My name is Volker C. Joehnk. I am writing to you today as a Maui resident, small business owner, and the President of the Board of Directors for the Kihei Resort Association of Apartment Owners (AOAO).
I am submitting this testimony to express our Kihei Resort community's overwhelming support for Resolution 26-129 and to respectfully urge the committee to adopt the Amendment Summary Form introduced by Councilmember Thomas Cook on August 5th, which explicitly adds Kihei Resort (TMK 3-9-001:136) to the list of properties transitioning to the H-3/H-4 Hotel District.
Our community is thoroughly unified on this issue. In July 2026, our AOAO conducted a formal owner vote resulting in a decisive 93.4% approval to petition Maui County for this exact hotel zoning designation.
The environmental and infrastructural realities of our location make our complex fundamentally unsuitable for long-term residential housing. As detailed in my written testimonies, the surrounding area suffers from chronic failing infrastructure, including heavily burdened power, water, and sewage systems, which are compounded by severe and frequent flooding of South Kihei Road. Given these escalating environmental and infrastructural challenges, our operational projections estimate that the functional lifecycle of Kihei Resort is effectively shortened to the year 2046.
We fully understand that the H-3/H-4 zoning protects our transient accommodation use but does not exempt us from the Maui Planning Commission's Shoreline Setback and Special Management Area (SMA) rules. We remain fully committed to responsible shoreline and property management for the remaining lifespan of the complex.
We are immensely grateful to Councilmember Cook for recognizing Kihei Resort's eligibility under the Sea Level Rise Exposure Area guidelines and officially introducing our property into the discussion.
We respectfully request that the HLU Committee formally adopt Councilmember Cook's amendment and vote to pass Resolution 26-129 forward with Kihei Resort securely included.
Mahalo for your time, your service to Maui County, and your dedication to finding balanced solutions for our community.
Sincerely,
Volker C. Joehnk President, Board of Directors Kihei Resort AOAO
From: Natia Barber <natiabarber@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2026 7:13 PM
To: Maui_County Council_mailbox <county.council@mauicounty.us>
Subject: OPPOSE Resolutions 26-129 and 26-130.
You don't often get email from natiabarber@gmail.com. Learn why this is important
Aloha Chair Uʻu-Hodgins and Members of the Housing and Land Use Committee,
My name is Natia Barber, and I am writing in strong opposition to Resolutions 26-129 and 26-130.
I am concerned that redesignating apartment-zoned properties as Hotel or Resort/Hotel in order to preserve transient vacation rental use moves Maui in the wrong direction at a time when residents continue to face serious housing pressures.
Apartment zoning should first and foremost serve Maui’s residential needs. Converting these properties into hotel districts may protect the economic interests of individual vacation-rental owners, but it also risks permanently removing properties from Maui’s potential long-term residential housing supply.
Tourism is an important part of Maui’s economy, but economic resilience also requires balance. Maui should be working toward an economy that supports residents, strengthens local industries, keeps workers on island, and reduces dependence on systems that prioritize visitor demand over the basic needs of the community.
Housing is a fundamental part of that economic resilience. Local businesses, schools, farms, healthcare providers, restaurants, and other essential industries cannot function without workers who can afford to live on Maui. When housing is increasingly treated as visitor accommodation rather than residential infrastructure, the effects extend far beyond the housing market and into Maui’s entire workforce and economy.
I am also concerned about establishing a precedent in which properties currently zoned for apartments can be redesignated as hotel properties primarily because they have historically operated as vacation rentals. Land-use decisions should reflect Maui’s long-term community needs rather than simply preserve an existing commercial use.
I respectfully ask the Committee to oppose Resolutions 26-129 and 26-130 and instead prioritize policies that preserve residentially zoned properties for Maui residents and strengthen the island’s long-term economic and community resilience.
Mahalo for your time and consideration.
Natia Barber
From: Maui Accessible Condo <mauiaccessiblecondo@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2026 4:54 PM
To: HLU Committee <HLU.Committee@mauicounty.us>
Subject: SUPPORT – Resolution 26-129 / Makani A Kai
[You don't often get email from mauiaccessiblecondo@gmail.com. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification ]
Dear Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee
I am the owner of Unit A-2, Makani A Kai, 300 Hau'oli Street in Māʻalaea. I strongly support adding Makani A Kai to Resolution 26-129. Makani A Kai is within the County-recognized Sea Level Rise Exposure Area and meets the criterion established for properties being considered under Resolution 26-129. I respectfully ask the Committee to apply that criterion consistently and include Makani A Kai in the resolution for referral to the Maui Planning Commission.
Mahalo for your consideration!
Bruce Bernhardt