WAILUKU - After years in development, the countywide policy plan finally got into the hands of members of the Maui County Council's Planning Committee on Tuesday.
And, after a couple of hiccups, members plowed through what they thought would be two days' worth of material in just a few hours.
The countywide policy plan is the big-picture document that sets a kind of mission statement for county planning through 2030, said Planning Department Director Jeff Hunt.
Senior Planner Simone Bosco said the countywide policy plan is meant to reflect the "needs and desires" of all three islands over the next 20-plus years. Committee members reviewed the vision, core values and principles, environment, cultural resources, education, and social and health care services sections.
"I want to clarify that the countywide policy plan contains no maps," Bosco said.
At first, committee members made only a few minor wording changes to the document. And once it appeared to become clear to everyone the amount of volunteer and professional work that already went into the countywide policy plan, Planning Committee members proffered almost no changes.
Dozens of residents, in conjunction with the county's Long Range Planning Division, hammered out the countywide policy plan. It often met with delays as various interests competed over what they'd like to see Maui County look like as it struggles with unprecedented growth that's only been hampered in the past year or so by the current economic downturn.
As it was presented to Planning Committee members on Tuesday, the draft policy plan appeared overall to be a reconciliation of business and development proposals meant to match anticipated bursts in population and possibly tourism with progressive ideals. Those values were stated as managed growth in designated urban zones and as sustainable business practices that take into account Maui County's sensitive ecological and cultural environments and its dependence on imported products.
Tuesday dealt with the first layer in a three-step county master planning process. It will be followed by the second and third steps, the Maui Island Plan and individual community plans, Planning Department staff said. The three phases combine to replace the 1990 General Plan, the last time the county underwent the arduous long-term planning process.
The General Plan Advisory Committee completed the countywide policy plan in 2007. Then the Planning Department brought the document, which is mostly pages and pages of matrices, to the planning commissions on Maui, Lanai and Molokai. The advisory bodies approved the countywide policy plan before it arrived Tuesday at the Planning Committee.
For even a few of the Planning Committee members, there appeared to be confusion Tuesday about the countywide policy plan and how it will be married with the more detailed island and community plans, which will come later. They weren't the only one with questions.
"This is a bit overwhelming for your average Joe," said Heidi Bigelow of the West Maui Land Co.
She was one of only six members of the public who attended Tuesday's Planning Committee meeting in Council Chambers. She, and a couple of council members, expressed concerns over the fact that the countywide policy plan has much of the same information as the draft Maui Island Plan.
Redundancy can lead to confusion when the island plan comes before the council, Bigelow said.
Hunt acknowledged the planning process can be confusing with so many shared ideas and seemingly contradictory concepts. For example, the plan contains competing goals, such as preserving open space and agricultural lands while also promoting the creation of affordable housing, he said.
Simultaneously on Tuesday, in Lahaina, the Maui Planning Commission held the first of several special meetings scheduled across the Valley Isle to discuss the Maui Island Plan, which includes maps that designate areas for urban and residential growth as well as for preservation and parks.
As for the countywide policy plan, the Planning Committee, led by Chairman Sol Kaho'ohalahala, has arranged for more public meetings, including gatherings Tuesday at the Mitchell Pauole Center on Molokai, Aug. 13 at Helene Hall in Hana and Aug. 14 in the Lanai High and Elementary School cafeteria. The meetings begin at 6 p.m.
The last countywide policy plan meeting is tentatively set for Aug. 31, when committee members could vote to forward it to the full Maui County Council.
On the Net:
* Countywide policy plan: co.maui.hi.us/index.aspx?NID=420
* Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com.
