The Maui News

The Maui County Council’s Planning and Sustainable Land Use Committee at 9 a.m. today will discuss a proposed resolution and bill for a zoning change in Maalaea for construction of a marine conservation and research center by the Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute.

Councilmember Kelly Takaya King said Resolution 22-253, which she introduced, will require review from the Maui Planning Commission and the South Maui Advisory Committee. The Climate Action, Resilience and Environment Committee, chaired by King, received a presentation on the project from the Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute and community feedback on Nov. 2.

The facility would allow the nonprofit’s work to expand and would include a sea turtle hospital, a coral nursery, research laboratories and educational classrooms. King said the presentation showed that with the additional capacity, the institute could bolster its marine research and education efforts and broaden its sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation operations, as well as its coral reef restoration and conservation efforts.

Community members may provide written and verbal testimony at today’s committee meeting. To submit oral testimony by phone, call (408) 915-6290 and enter meeting code 149 341 846 or visit MauiCounty.us/ agendas for more information on testifying.

The meeting will be available to view live on the Maui County Council’s Facebook page, on cable television via Akaku Channel 53, and at MauiCounty.us. For more information, contact committee staff at pslu.committee@mauicounty.us or (808) 270-7838.