The Maui News

Updated special management area and shoreline rules were approved by the Maui Planning Commission last month, bringing “more balance and flexibility for homeowners while improving coastal resilience for the environment,” the county announced Friday.

“The new rules reflect many years of work from the Maui County Planning Department, the Maui Planning Commission and community working groups,” Maui County Planning Director Kathleen Ross Aoki said in a news release “The updated SMA and Shoreline rules are more balanced and flexible for homeowners, and incorporate the best available science on sea level rise to bolster coastal resilience.”

The updated SMA and shoreline rules — along with an important map that will help landowners find whether the shoreline setback line applies to their properties — are being processed by the Planning Department. In about 45 days, the map and the adopted rules will go to the County Clerk’s Office. Thirty days after they’re submitted, the rules will take effect.

Several highlights of the new rules include:

• Creating categorical exemptions, which allow people to bypass submitting an SMA assessment or permit application if proposed work has minimal to no environmental impact. For example, repairs and upgrades to the interior of homes, with a valuation of less than $500,000 in any 24-month period, within the special management area including the shoreline area, are allowed, unless they are seeking expansion or intensifying the use.

• Removing the mandatory requirement of certified shoreline surveys, which cost thousands of dollars, and instead leaving the decision to the discretion of the department.

• Reducing the permitting burden for state-required conversion of cesspools.

• Requiring hazard mitigation plans that consider realignment of structures away from the shoreline if existing structures are exposed to coastal hazards.

Maui County’s latest revision to the SMA and shoreline rules is the second major update since 2003. Every decade, the guidelines will to be reassessed based on erosion rates and the best science available, the news release said.

When the new rules take effect, the public will be able to access the shoreline map on the Planning Department’s website. Also, the department will conduct public outreach to inform and to train residents on the changes.