Maui releases final Long-Term Recovery Plan for Lahaina
Maui Country officials have released the county’s final Long-Term Recovery Plan for Lahaina.
The release follows a monthlong community engagement series on the draft plan that included feedback from hundreds of residents and local stakeholders. The Long-Term Recovery Plan is available at MauiRecovers.org/lahaina.
Also included on the website are individual pages dedicated to each of the plan’s 40 projects that cover key areas of recovery including community planning, economic recovery, health and social services, housing, infrastructure, and natural and cultural resources.
In a statement, Mayor Richard Bissen said the Long-Term Recovery Plan will ensure that Lahaina’s recovery efforts are led by its residents’ needs and aspirations.
“As we look to the future of Lahaina, this recovery plan is more than just a roadmap forward — it embodies the community’s shared vision for our future,” Bissen said. “Mahalo for the hundreds of responses throughout our community engagement efforts; your input is the foundation of our recovery and rebuild of Lahaina town. Special mahalo to our teams from the Office of Recovery and Department of Planning who have worked tirelessly to create a path forward.”
The Long-Term Recovery Plan is meant to be a roadmap for the county’s recovery efforts in the aftermath of the 2023 Maui wildfires, and it will help identify the funding sources necessary for those projects.
According to the county, the plan is a living document and revisions can be made over time with community input.
A draft of the plan was released Oct. 21, and open houses on Oct. 23 and Oct. 26 at Lahainaluna High School solicited feedback. Additionally, online feedback was accepted through Nov. 15.
The county received more than 300 responses, which county officials said were used to make the following adjustments in the final plan:
Removing the delineation between priority and appendix projects, and placing all 40 projects in the body of the plan
Clarifying timeframes estimated for project completion
Adding information regarding the anticipated level of public participation for projects
Identifying interconnections between projects
Adding additional project details, where possible
“This plan serves as our foundation for what the community wants to see moving forward,” incoming Office of Recovery Administrator John Smith said in a statement. “My team and I have already been actively working on moving many of these projects forward and look forward to continuing that momentum into the new year.”