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The Maui County Council gave initial approval Friday to a bill extending a moratorium on sand mining in Central Maui, allowing the county time to complete a study on sand availability and possibly to pass new laws.
The extension will last through Dec. 31 under a bill that will be scheduled for a second and final vote at a future meeting.
The vote was 7-1 with Council Member Yuki Lei Sugimura opposing the measure. Council Member Kelly King was absent and excused.
The initial bill establishing the temporary moratorium was passed by the council on Jan. 5 and signed by the mayor on Jan. 19. The moratorium expired on July 19, to the concern of advocates who feared the iwi kupuna, or ancestral bones, would once again go unprotected.
The moratorium had put a temporary halt to inland sand mining in Central Maui, allowing time for the county to update a 2006 study on available sand and to pass laws regulating mining, extraction and removal of sand. It was supposed to last six months or until the goals of the moratorium were carried out -- whichever came first.
The study was expected to be finished by June 29, but only the first draft had been completed by that date, Public Works Director David Goode said at a July 2 council committee meeting. Goode would not release the study, saying the department still had comments and concerns. He said staff wanted to extend the study's deadline through the end of the year.
A pair of bills relating to sand mining, meanwhile, are still in the council Land Use Committee. One would clarify the definition of resource extraction in the Maui County Code to allow the county to better regulate it. Another would allow certain county and state officials to enter a property to ensure compliance with permits.
In other action Friday, the council on first reading voted to approve a bill that would amend the fees for use of county parks facilities and equipment. The amendment comes as users complained about a $20 across-the-board increase approved by the council for the current fiscal year.
The fee hike was supposed to take effect July 1 but was not implemented. Parks Department officials told the council that the change would cause permit offices to be closed for a week for staff to manually input the changes into the computer system.
The bill approved on initial reading Friday allows for a 25 percent across-the-board hike over the old fees. The change means rates mostly would increase by a few dollars instead of $20.
The percentage fee changes also could be more easily done through system software, county officials have said.
Council members on Friday also approved the appointments of William Spence as director of Housing and Human Concerns and Michele McLean as planning director.
Spence was formerly planning director and took over for housing Director Carol Reimann on an interim basis in late June. Reimann left June 1 to become vice president on Maui for Alexander & Baldwin Inc.
McLean served as deputy planning director under Spence and since late June has filled the director position on an interim basis.
* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.