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The state would take over governance of land use and development in much of West Maui, a much more far-reaching plan than just the rebuilding of Lahaina, under a bill speeding through the Senate. 

Lawmakers on Thursday are scheduled to decide whether to move forward a bold measure that would create the Lele Development District. The vote on appears a formality following  of the Senate Energy, Economic Development and Tourism and Water and Land committees on Wednesday.

The measure, which was introduced by , faced little opposition and had clear support from the committee chairs: Sen. Lorraine Inouye, of the Water and Land Committee, and Sen. Lynn DeCoite, who chairs the Energy, Economic Development and Tourism Committee. The main questions raised centered on mechanics of holding an election.

After acknowledging the bill wasn’t perfect, DeCoite said at one point: “If not now, when? And if not this, then what?”

The proposed Lele Development District would stretch far beyond the town of Lahaina, which was mostly destroyed by wildfires in August, and encompass much of West Maui, extending north to Kaanapali and south to Maalaea. 

The state would take control of land use and development in this area — including overseeing the rebuilding of Lahaina — by seizing power from Maui County and giving it to the Lele Development District, a new entity within the Hawaii Community Development Authority. Decisions would be made by an elected nine-person board composed of district residents.

The measure’s co-sponsor is Senate Ways and Means Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz, who has made a concerted push to expand the influence of entities like the HCDA, quasi-independent agencies with power to buy and develop land.

The Lele Development District board would have unusually expansive powers, with the authority to impose rent control, for instance, and to take property from one person through eminent domain and transfer it to another.

The board would oversee development of a new Lahaina. The bill envisions shoreline setbacks and underground utilities to mitigate risks of climate change impacts. Networks of pathways, bikeways and public transportation would reduce dependence on private vehicles. 

The initial board would be appointed by the governor, subject to the Senate’s “advice and consent,” and replaced by a board elected in the 2026 general election.

The bill faced little opposition on Tuesday. Maui Mayor Richard Bissen, Maui County Council member Tamara Paltin, the Maui Chamber of Commerce and the community group Lahaina Strong all submitted comments raising some concerns about the bill. But their testimony stopped short of opposing it. 

A half dozen individual opponents submitted , but only one of them, Katie Austin, showed up in person to testify. She voiced concerns about creating another governmental entity to govern rebuilding Lahaina and urged the committee to spend the next year formulating a plan.

Supporters included the HCDA; Jimmy Tokioka, director of the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; Honolulu City Council member Esther Kiaaina, and several individuals.

Among the supporters was DeMont Kalai Manaole, who, while generally supporting the measure, questioned making board members elected officials, given the role of money in politics. 

“Only people with money going to be voted in,” he said.

Questions Raised About Election

Much of the discussion about the bill, in fact, focused on the election for the Lele Development District board. There was talk about holding the board election in 2025 instead of 2026, which would require a special election.

Another question involved who would be able to run for the board and vote in the election. 

Under a proposed draft, candidates and voters would have to be current residents of the broad Lele district.

Scott Nago, Hawaii’s chief election officer, said this means people registered to vote in the district could run for a board seat and vote in the election. That would make administering an election easy in some ways, Nago indicated.

A challenge, Nago said, is that the Lele Development District doesn’t align with any existing House or Senate district, so the elections office would have to create a new subset of people eligible to vote.

Sen. Kurt Fevella said he was concerned that people not registered to vote wouldn’t have a voice on such an important matter. And McKelvey questioned whether people registered to vote in West Maui would be able to vote even if they had moved somewhere else.

Lahaina Strong also raised questions about the election. In written testimony, organization members Jordan Ruidas, Courtney Lazo and Pa’ele Kiakona testified that the bill should “ensure that board members were residents of Lahaina at the time of the fire, thereby guaranteeing a deep connection to the community’s needs.” 

But Reese Nakamura, a deputy attorney general, said such a durational residency requirement could raise constitutional issues – especially over time, as, for example, people born in the district after the fires grew up and wanted to run for the board.

“Over time, we saw it could be a problem,” he said.

In an unexpected twist, McKelvey, who sponsored the original bill establishing the Lele Development District, at one point asked why the HCDA was seeking to push forward with the bill, instead of spending some time studying the situation.

“What is wrong with trying to take a step back to create a working group so that the community can have a further detailed discussion?” McKelvey asked HCDA’s executive director, Craig Nakamoto. “Why, I guess, do you feel it’s imperative that we establish this now as is?”

Nakamoto said it was to for the committee to decide whether to move ahead. 

As McKelvey began to push back, DeCoite called a recess and ending the discussion. After the committees reconvened, much of the conversation involved Nakamoto explaining how the HCDA would merely support the elected board.

Best known for overseeing the redevelopment of Kakaako into an affluent community of expensive condos and fashionable shops and restaurants, HCDA has at times been criticized for failing to fulfill one of its legislative mandates: the development of affordable housing. 

The , “there exists within the State vast, unmet community development needs. These include,  but are not limited to, a lack of suitable affordable housing.”

Pertaining to the , the statute cites “the potential for increased growth and development that can alleviate community needs such as low-income housing.”

Still, during the hearing, Nakamoto insisted HCDA was doing what the Legislature had asked.

“We don’t just come in and do what we want to do,” he said.

The committees are scheduled to reconvene and vote on the measure Thursday.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by grants from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.