WAILUKU - Maui County Council members Tuesday unanimously approved extending their deadline to enact the Maui Island Plan for a third time in as many years.
An Aug. 3 deadline has been pushed back to Dec. 31 as the council's General Plan Committee continues reviewing the proposed Maui Island Plan.
"The reason why we're moving this back is so that we can we can finish," committee Chairwoman Gladys Baisa said. "We are not going to relax. We are going to move ahead as quickly as we can and try to wrap this up. It has been going on too long, in my opinion, and it is imperative that this council, all nine of us, complete this work this year."
The original deadline was set by Maui County Code, which states that the council shall adopt the plan "no later than one year after receipt of the Maui Island Plan," creating an October 2010 cutoff.
The council previously approved extending that deadline until Dec. 30. It then voted to again extend the deadline to Aug. 3.
"There's been a tremendous amount of time and money involved so far, and I think we need to wrap this up," Baisa told council members. "We certainly need a plan. We cannot be operating without a plan. I really, really feel that this is something that we need to commit to do."
