[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6512566,"mediaKeyId","5108021-46069fe631e022362e7f6477f0fcc54c","parentId",5108021,"title","Committee endorses discounted water rate for native‑habitat restoration; sends Bill 56 to council on first reading","audioSeconds",1164,"startMs",2502000,"endMs",3666000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5108021-46069fe631e022362e7f6477f0fcc54c&start=2502&end=3666","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5108021-46069fe631e022362e7f6477f0fcc54c/thumbnail_2502000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6512566/Maui-County/Hawaii/Committee-endorses-discounted-water-rate-for-nativehabitat-restoration-sends-Bill-56-to-council-on-first-reading","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6512566-14189f8ca94f7ec3d09bebb3e6c29f6b/orig.mp4?Expires=1771105240&Signature=A4uMY8iHwaWZMPafcKARZP49pwg1GAHecw7oz5cJE0bR7tP2NzZmJyACb8R62bMn646zKIBxWe-zZUJJ5uqf8MGYJ1kPY3HYhKRnl1NuDwX7NXTHh92pl0RNZqtJuwmCFxW0Y9BlEgTQaHb3TWvCr3xNkF8SHiNt~Ae8vIiVZ3JQ5JCWDRJJmg60wMzITUKNoz~HD-tLS8ibg60AotEjNqBXaO2N~7NDnKNxzTDKdIRKbmawoVGJyWePagRj4KB0KbA3DLuTX-jQ9z7zLo0jOSzVyuTBStq3nCvDSKv6nsBM--lhsJ~PRXrhQDYSfsKkFsa91vBEWGuoVOO3jsLCtg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Maui County","date","2025-06-30T00:00:00Z","article","The Maui County Council Water and Infrastructure Committee voted 7‑0 on June 30, 2025, to substitute Bill 56 with a proposed CD1 version and to recommend the ordinance on first reading to the full council. The ordinance would amend Maui County Code section 14.10.010 to allow a discounted water rate for Department of Water Supply customers who use water primarily for preservation or restoration of native Hawaiian species habitat and have no associated commercial activity.

John Stufflebean, director of the Department of Water Supply, said the proposal targets nonprofits and community trusts that carry out restoration work but do not qualify for the agricultural rate. “We came up with a special rate for just this specific category,” Stufflebean told the committee, adding the department would require applicants to submit a plan showing water use estimates and best-management practices to avoid misuse.

Under the CD1 amendment, references to water use “solely” for habitat work were replaced with “primarily,” and the measure’s effective date was amended to be retroactive to July 1, 2025. The chair summarized that CD1 also makes technical and stylistic clarifications and identifies the department official responsible for substantive and technical edits.

Committee members asked how the program would work in practice. Stufflebean said applicants could receive a separate meter if county water is available at the site and they pay meter installation costs; in remote cases the department would consider tanked water delivery as part of an applicant’s plan. He described eligible applicants as nonprofits, community trusts and organizations whose mission is preservation and restoration of native Hawaiian habitat, and said department staff would review plans and consult technical partners as needed to confirm whether plant species and activities qualify.

The committee discussed rate levels and charges. Stufflebean gave the comparison: the general (non‑discounted) business rate would be about $8.34 per 1,000 gallons; the proposed habitat rate would be $4.98 per 1,000 gallons; by contrast an “aggregate” rate referenced in correspondence was $1.25 per 1,000 gallons. The proposed discounted rate was described by staff as equal to the tier‑2 residential rate.

Members said the measure fills a gap for conservation work that does not fit agricultural classifications. Vice Chair Yukulei Sugimura and Council member Keani Rollins Fernandez both praised the bill; Rollins Fernandez said the initiative is “using water to make more water” by restoring watershed function.

The committee accepted the chair’s proposed amendment summary form and then voted to substitute Bill 56 with CD1. The substitute motion (moved by Vice Chair Sugimura and seconded by Member Ron Fernandez) passed with seven ayes and no nays. The main motion to recommend passage on first reading (moved and seconded) also passed 7‑0. The item now moves to the full council for first‑reading consideration.

Implementation details in the CD1 draft and department correspondence include: an application process, a requirement to submit a water‑use plan and best‑management practices, an eligibility definition (nonprofit/community trust mission‑driven restoration), and language authorizing the department to consult subject‑matter experts to confirm native species status. The June 12 departmental letter posted to Granicus provides the committee’s requested clarifications on definition and implementation.

Outlook: If adopted by the council, the ordinance would make a county rate break available to nonprofit habitat restorers connected to Maui County’s water system, subject to meter availability and departmental review of proposed projects.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Maui County - Water and Infrastructure Committee (2025-2027) on 2025-06-30 1:30 PM - Jun 30, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Maui County Council Water and Infrastructure Committee voted 7‑0 on June 30, 2025, to substitute Bill 56 with a proposed CD1 version and to recommend the ordinance on first reading to the full council.","taxTitle","Maui County, Hawaii","taxId",12846,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6512570,"Maui committee agrees to defer vote on Lahaina land purchase tied to roadway extensions and HECO substation relocation",2055,394000,2449000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5108021-46069fe631e022362e7f6477f0fcc54c&start=394&end=2449","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5108021-46069fe631e022362e7f6477f0fcc54c/thumbnail_394000.jpg","/articles/6512570/Maui-County/Hawaii/Maui-committee-agrees-to-defer-vote-on-Lahaina-land-purchase-tied-to-roadway-extensions-and-HECO-substation-relocation","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6512570-48817660c0f8e16c3943c351cd62144c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771105240&Signature=ib4Kn6qNYMmrwpetZ~1Q928OHe~QWAJTet3B6rxuBWSl9blmw9ywykkDZfstkBURLcoPVQn1728DEsWUIj9H9GCuqNgmZbQwt-5dfC6Ps9-8k2B6iuMEivmPBMKR-w7gZmym-9AODiNp4IH7ecwylts3v7jqXbU2qOJShC6laVUpuq5rD-rtWwKIVALRrwQufVwUFCn8D82mBKtj-HcwiA0JtfPZw79IlWYo2QDfLoBiyp2y3kls7cQZ9myBM3BmrMeb1Wy6-6TzEolS8xNOV4uT2Cngh5B3HzrbDe4BKCroDbFXGO0dTJayNXGTBIhqG1VgELRjpqOTX9f5cKEymw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Maui County Council Water and Infrastructure Committee discussed Resolution 25-129 on June 30, 2025, which would authorize the county to pursue acquisition of about 1.72 acres in Lahaina across multiple tax map keys for use in the Kahua Street and Dickinson Street roadway extension projects. Director Jordan Molina of the Department of Public Works told the committee the purchase would also support Mill Street widening and an opportunity to relocate a HECO substation that conflicts with the Kahua alignment.

The matter matters to Lahaina residents and to county recovery plans because the projects are intended to improve roadway connectivity and evacuation routes as part of long-term recovery efforts following the 2023 fires. Director Jordan Molina said the county is “scrambling to go as fast as we can” to avoid conflicts with property rebuilds and to give Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) the clarity it needs to advance its design work.

Committee members pressed staff about the price and appraisal. Committee Vice Chair Yukulei Sugimura asked whether appraisals were lower than the asking price; Director Molina confirmed there was a discrepancy and said negotiations are ongoing but the administration was asking authority to negotiate up to the owner’s asking price of $1,950,000. Molina told the committee the county is comfortable continuing negotiations despite the appraisal gap because of the public benefits the parcels offer.

Council member Gabe Johnson asked for a location reference; Molina described the Dickinson segment as roughly at the corner near the Aloha gas station and said the planned roadway would function as a collector connecting H?onopi'ilani Highway to the Lahaina Bypass. On utilities, Molina said both distribution and transmission lines cross the area; the county typically does not bury transmission lines, but distribution lines are commonly undergrounded if funding is available.

Members discussed funding sources for any undergrounding. Molina said the projects are primarily county-funded through capital improvement program (CIP) allocations (identified as 2025 CIP under the Office of Recovery) and that the county is pursuing supplemental federal funding through Federal Highway programs and potential Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds. He also said HECO may have access to programs to support undergrounding.

The committee heard that zoning and parcel configuration will affect future uses. Some candidate parcels are zoned M-2 (industrial) and agricultural; HECO’s site needs were described as roughly 36,000 square feet. Molina said the county expects to pursue land exchanges with multiple owners in the area and to seek “value for value” proposals; any subdivision or zoning changes needed to facilitate exchanges would come back to the council for authorization.

Committee members asked about community outreach. Molina said staff and administration have contacted property owners in the neighborhood to gauge interest and identify options that minimize displacement of homeowners already rebuilding. Members suggested potential county uses for leftover acreage, including bus facilities, a recycling/ redemption center, or agricultural/community garden space, and Molina said those possibilities are being considered as part of negotiation strategy.

The chair proposed and the committee agreed without objection to defer the item to the full Maui County Council meeting on July 8, 2025, to allow further work on the proposed CD1 version of the resolution, clarify acreage, and continue negotiations with property owners and HECO. No formal vote on purchase authority occurred at the committee level on June 30.

The committee took two rounds of three-minute questions from members before agreeing to the deferral. Staff noted that written testimony would remain part of the official record and that a revised resolution (CD1) correcting the total acreage and making non-substantive edits had been posted as a Granicus item.

Outlook: The acquisition, if authorized by the full council, would be an early step toward constructing collector connections and relieving chokepoints in Lahaina’s road network. It would also be a prerequisite to HECO’s relocation work for the substation and could require further council action on land exchanges, subdivisions or zoning changes depending on final site footprints.

","The Maui County Council Water and Infrastructure Committee discussed Resolution 25-129 on June 30, 2025, which would authorize the county to pursue acquisition of about 1.72 acres in Lahaina across multiple tax map keys for use in the Kahua Street and Dickinson Street roadway extension projects.","actionData","errors"]

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Committee endorses discounted water rate for native‑habitat restoration; sends Bill 56 to council on first reading

Maui committee agrees to defer vote on Lahaina land purchase tied to roadway extensions and HECO substation relocation