The developer of the Olowalu Fire Station is seeking a special use permit to build on agricultural land. The application will be reviewed by the Maui Planning Commission. Photo courtesy West Maui Improvement Foundation

Retired University of Hawaii culinary instructor Robert R. Santos is looking forward to having a fire substation in Olowalu near his home.

“I think it’s desperately needed,” said Santos, who recalled a few times when his family had to evacuate their house because of wildfires.

As the Maui Planning Commission is scheduled to review the project for a special use permit and hold a public hearing, several area residents and county officials have expressed their support of the Olowalu Fire Station planned by the West Maui Improvement Foundation.

Foundation president Joseph Pluta said the meeting is scheduled for April 14.

But there has been successful opposition to other Olowalu developments in the past.

The proposal is undergoing scrutiny because Olowalu is home to sensitive archaeological sites, a pristine coral reef and seasonal humpback whale calving.

In 2016, a developer withdrew plans to build a 1,500-home subdivision at Olowalu after the state Land Use Commission rejected an environmental impact statement.

The commission said the environmental report lacked adequate information about its impact on archaeological sites, traffic and cultural resources.

In 2020, the Maui County Council housing committee voted down a developer’s 59-unit Olowalu affordable housing project with critics arguing the proposal threatened the reef and wasn’t affordable enough.

Archaeological sites

Olowalu has been under extensive agricultural use in the past and includes old taro patches and house sites as well as a former sugarcane irrigation system connected to Olowalu Gulch, according to a draft archaeological study prepared for Maui County in November.

Prior studies have identified more than 40 archaeological sites, including the Kawaialoa Heiau located a half-mile away and the Olowalu Petroglyph Complex about a quarter mile north of the fire station site.

No archaeological sites have been identified within the 4.3-acre fire station site, located about a half-mile north of the ocean.

The draft study notes that the petroglyphs in the complex have been damaged by vandals or fires, and the Awalua Cemetery has some fire damage.

Smaller than other stations

The planned fire substation’s interior is 3,576 square feet.

The Maui County Department of Fire and Public Safety plans to add six positions to staff the station, and the station at Olowalu would be small compared to the Lahaina Fire Station, which has 33 personnel attached to it.

Once built, the foundation plans to donate the land and building to Maui County, which would take over the operation.

The county said a mini-truck has been ordered for the fire station and is expected to be on Maui by the end of 2026. The truck was acquired with the help of the Bezos Family Foundation with the Daniel R. Sayer Foundation executing the purchase.

In the past, the foundation has built and donated other construction projects, including the Napili Fire Station.

Site selection

Some who opposed the prior Olowalu subdivisions also are against the fire substation, saying it’s the foot in the door to larger developments.

“I’m opposed to them building it in Olowalu,” said Tiare Lawrence, who grew up in Olowalu. “Why doesn’t the county build it at Ukumehame or Maalaea where they own land?”

Pluta said the area was selected because of its proximity to where other fires have started and would protect about 600 homes in the vicinity of Olowalu.

He said Maui County Fire Chief Bradford Ventura selected the site because it was above the special management area coastal zone and had two routes connecting the fire station to the main highway.

Olowalu pig farmer Shan Vierra said he feels the new substation is necessary with the nearest existing fire station being more than 8 miles away.

“By the time the Lahaina firefighters get here, forget about it,” he said.