County releases final Long-Term Recovery Plan for Lahaina--Does not commit to Rebuild Front Street

by Andrew Walden

The holidays are a handy time to bury news. 

The office of Maui County Mayor Bissen released 'the final Long-Term Recovery Plan for Lahaina' December 23, 2024.

Here’s what the ‘plan’ says about Front Street:

p 11 “Lahaina’s Front Street featured several historic buildings, museums, tourist shops, and restaurants, which coincided with many Native Hawaiian cultural sites beneath the surface.”

p 16 “Out of 290 businesses, 37.6% are still evaluating the impact of the wildfires on their business plans, while 36.2% significantly scaled back but plan to rebuild on Maui.”

p 23 “Diverse perspectives have also been heard as part of the engagement process on individual long term recovery projects, such as the design of Front Street and improving parking options. These and other projects will require more public education and discussion before the project design and development process is finalized and implemented.”

p 29 “It will evaluate alternative development scenarios, including re-envisioning the future of Front Street….”

p 29 “This project will be a comprehensive rebuild plan for Lahaina focusing on business centers, public lands, circulation and mobility, and Front Street. This plan will build upon the West Maui Community Plan, incorporating the National Historic Landmark District (NHLD) guidelines, the West Maui Community Corridor Plan and West Maui Greenway Plan. The proposed project will be more specific than previous plans, identifying areas for mixed-use development, parks, housing, transit hubs, and public facilities. It will be completed over multiple phases and may include subordinate plans, including visions for Front Street, public lands and parks. The project will require extensive community engagement, including direct coordination with landowners. Following the completion of the Rebuild Lahaina Plan may may initiate code changes and rezoning to implement the plan as necessary….”   

p 68 “…there are competing opinions on post contact building/site restoration, shoreline management area (SMA) requirements, updated shoreline setbacks, and other land use controls for Front Street’s redevelopment….”

The word ‘plan’ occurs 526 times in this report.  The phrase ‘property rights’ occurs zero times.

Front Street doesn’t need a ‘plan’.  Front Street needs a rights-based rebuild.  Each property owner must be granted the right to rebuild what they lost. 

READ: Do Lahaina Property Owners Have the Right to Rebuild?  (Aug 23, 2023)

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County releases final Long-Term Recovery Plan for Lahaina

News Release from Office of the Mayor, Dec 23, 2024

The County of Maui has released the final Long-Term Recovery Plan for Lahaina, following a monthlong community engagement series on the draft plan that included feedback from hundreds of residents and local stakeholders.

The Long-Term Recovery Plan is available to view and download at www.MauiRecovers.org/lahaina. Also included on the website are individual pages dedicated to each of the plan’s 40 projects that cover key areas of recovery: Community Planning, Economic Recovery, Health and Social Services, Housing, Infrastructure, and Natural and Cultural Resources.

Mayor Richard Bissen said the Long-Term Recovery Plan ensures that Lahaina’s healing is led by the needs and aspirations of its residents.

“As we look to the future of Lahaina, this recovery plan is more than just a roadmap forward — it embodies the community’s shared vision for our future,” Mayor Bissen said. “Mahalo for the hundreds of responses throughout our community engagement efforts; your input is the foundation of our recovery and rebuild of Lahaina town. Special mahalo to our teams from the Office of Recovery and Department of Planning who have worked tirelessly to create a path forward.”

The purpose of the Long-Term Recovery Plan is to provide a roadmap for the County’s recovery efforts in the aftermath of the 2023 Maui wildfires and help identify the funding sources necessary for these projects to be executed. The plan is a living document, and revisions can and will be made over time with community input.

A draft of the plan was released on Oct. 21, 2024. The County’s Office of Recovery and Department of Planning held open houses Oct. 23 and Oct. 26 at Lahainaluna High School. There, community members learned about the plan’s projects and provided feedback. In addition, online feedback was accepted through Nov. 15.

The County received more than 300 responses through the community engagement events. As a result, the following adjustments are reflected in the final plan:

• Removing the delineation between priority and appendix projects, and placing all 40 projects in the body of the plan

• Clarifying timeframes estimated for project completion

• Adding information regarding the anticipated level of public participation for projects

• Identifying interconnections between projects

• Adding additional project details, where possible

A primary component in the creation of the Long-Term Recovery Plan was incorporating the input of the

Lahaina community.

From September 2023 to July 2024, 3,833 Lahaina residents and stakeholders participated in 11 community engagement activities and events. These included 190 public testimonials and interviews, three online surveys and five neighborhood workshops. A summary report of community engagement was released in September and is available to view and download at www.MauiRecovers.org/lahaina.

“This plan serves as our foundation for what the community wants to see moving forward,” said incoming Office of Recovery Administrator John Smith. “My team and I have already been actively working on moving many of these projects forward and look forward to continuing that momentum into the new year.”

PDF: Lahaina_LTRP_Report_20241221.pdf - Google Drive

HNN: Maui County releases long-term plans for Lahaina, including rebuilding of Front Street