In the wake of community opposition to the construction of a 45-foot-high Napili home meant for transient accommodations, the Maui Planning Commission gave its nod Tuesday to a proposal that would clarify height limits and require short-term rental permits for the district.

The commission’s unanimous vote, with one member absent and excused, recommended approval for a council measure that would update the archaic Napili Bay Civic Improvement District rules — set in the 1960s — within the Maui County Code.

If approved by council, the amended proposal would mean the maximum building height can’t exceed two stories or 30 feet. Also, homeowners would have to obtain a special use permit to operate anything outside of what’s allowed in apartment and residential districts.

Currently the Napili Bay Civic Improvement District has a height limit of two stories and doesn’t require a permit for uses that are approved in hotel districts, such as short-term rentals and other transient accommodations.

Thanks to community pressure, the measure is gaining momentum, Council Member Tamara Paltin, who introduced the bill, said after the meeting.

“From the time my community brought it to my attention, I’ve been working on it,” said Paltin, who holds the West Maui residency seat. “It wouldn’t have been heard this quickly without the community.”

Napili resident Junya Nakoa, who has been following the issue since February, said the process has been frustrating for other West Maui locals, and that the county wouldn’t have taken action without pressure.

“All this thing coming up because we brought it up,” he testified. “We wen do the job of the Planning Department. We found out was too high. We found out the buggah was all kine stuff. We did the due diligence and we buss our okole for go look at them.”

Owned by Greg Brown, the 45-foot-tall Napili home with eight bedrooms, an elevator, a roof pool and spa, two dens, two media rooms and two parking areas each with four spaces, is currently being constructed on his property at the corner of Lower Honoapiilani Road and Hui Drive.

Community members for months have raised flags over the height and potential use for the house, saying they didn’t have a chance to weigh in on a building that changes the character of the area. Testifiers at a recent council committee meeting called the home a “monstrosity.”

The project gained a special management area permit exemption, which allows the developer to bypass certain rules and avoid a public hearing, based on the written intention that it would be used as a single-family home, according to the Planning Department.

In a June 25 letter to the council, Brown through his attorney said he intended to use it as a short-term rental home all along. The owner also contends the structure complies with all state laws and county ordinances, and the special management area permit exemption in 2019 and building permit in 2020 were thoroughly vetted and properly approved by the county Planning Department.

Council Vice Chairwoman Keani Rawlins-Fernandez testified at the Tuesday commission meeting in support of the measure, saying the bill is not just about a single house — but rather to implement good policy and effective enforcement across the board.

“In other parts of the zoning code and other special districts, we’ve amended the arbitrary ‘two stories’ to a specific number of feet,” she said. “It boils down to making the code more black and white for easier enforcement by our department.”

Planning Director Michele McLean said that if the proposal is implemented, homes or units with operations under the existing zoning will be grandfathered in. The homes or units will be considered “existing nonconforming,” where they may “continue, maintain and refurbish” the property but can’t expand to increase the nonconformity.

“In the past the department has treated single-family homes in the hotel zoning district and Napili Bay Civic Improvement District as being able to do vacation rentals because hotel use is allowed in the district,” she said. “Because of the Greg Brown property and community concerns over it, we started looking into that really carefully.”

* Kehaulani Cerizo can be reached at kcerizo@mauinews.com.