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A Napili mansion with a contentious history is on the market for just under $13 million.

Built and owned by contractor Greg Brown over the noisy objections of his neighbors, the 12-bedroom, 12-bathroom house is 7,344 square feet and boasts a heated rooftop pool with jetted spa, an outdoor rooftop kitchen with built-in barbecue, an elevator, two dining rooms, a pair of great rooms, two dens and 14 smart TVs.

Marketed as a “Maui luxury vacation home that stands above the rest,” the home at 5385 Lower Honoapiilani Road with sweeping views of Napili Bay can sleep up to 24 people.

But the MLS listing for the house carries an : “Buyer to do their own Due Diligence.”

It notes the 45-foot-tall house received an exemption for Special Management Area rules for eight bedrooms, not 12 as listed in county property records.

That detail is indicative of a much larger story about the building’s history.

Ever since Brown started construction on the house some four years ago, neighbors took notice. The house’s size and height seemed way off. They wondered how the Maui County Planning Department could be allowing such a massive structure to be built.

Local residents formed the Napili Bay Community Association to try to halt construction.

“The home was built under hotel design standards, and citizens were denied of their rights to public hearings during the application process,” said Chris Salem, a West Maui community activist and former county employee who worked for former Mayor Mike Victorino. Salem sued the county for wrongful termination and other claims separately.

Although the county issued several stop work orders so that Brown could come into compliance with permit rules, the association’s efforts proved unsuccessful.

The Maui County Council held multiple hearings on what to do with the monster house. One idea floated by community activists and discussed by the council was exercising eminent domain and turning the building into a Native Hawaiian cultural center. The council in June 2022 passed a resolution calling for the county to take control of the house by eminent domain, but the Victorino administration did not pursue it.

But responding to public concern, the Maui County Council passed another resolution in August 2022 calling for an investigation into why Brown was granted an exemption for needing an SMA permit, a process that involves more rigorous county and public scrutiny of a proposed development.

West Maui resident Kanamu Balinbin had said publicly several times that he has personal knowledge of planning department officials accepting bribes in exchange for making problems go away for developers. He shared his allegations before the council’s Government Relations, Ethics and Transparency Committee, but an investigation never happened.

At one point, Brown was intending to use the house as a temporary vacation rental, even though he built it as a single-family residence.

That prompted then-Planning Director Kathleen Aoki to issue a saying that if he went ahead and rented the house at $8,500 to $20,000 per night, as advertised, the county would be obligated to subject him to zoning enforcement at $20,000 a day per violation.

Although the house’s asking price is $12.9 million, county tax records show the land and building have a total assessed value of just $1.9 million with Brown paying $13,600 in annual property taxes.

Real estate agent Tyler Coons is trying to sell the house for Brown, who did not respond to an email requesting comment. Coons said as far as he knows the house was built legally and has all the required permits.

If it turns out that it’s part of a lawsuit, he will make sure that any buyer is fully aware prior to a sale going through.

“We’re all about disclosure,” Coons said.

Maui’s new planning director, Kate Blystone, did not respond to a request for comment.

Sam Small, a video producer and head of the nonprofit Maui Causes, said Brown should donate the building to the county for use as an assisted living facility or housing for elderly fire survivors.

“Some want to see the place razed. Personally I think that’s a waste as the community does have needs that the structure can serve,” Small said.

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