Forbes said release of the Lahaina draft plan is “no doubt a welcome sign for the island, a long-awaited collective vision that can enable the community to begin moving forward” in the wake of the utterly devastating Aug. 8, 2023 fire that destroyed most of the city and took more than 100 lives.
The draft report does seem like a welcome, and necessary, sign. But I don’t think anybody knows how exactly the rebuild will happen.
Lahaina and Front Street before the fire. PHOTO COURTESY HAWAII TOURISM AUTHORITY
Civil Beat said the draft was written after officials heard from more than 3,800 community members during several public meetings, surveys and interviews from September 2023 to July 2024.
“The plan ‘is designed to provide a roadmap for long-term recovery of Lahaina,’ according to the draft. Among other things, they proposed rebuilding Lahaina with underground utilities, more evacuation routes and a design to prevent wildfires from spreading,” Civil Beat said.
The final version of the plan is expected in December, and some work could start in 2025, Forbes said.
One thing I found encouraging is that the report says it’s putting residents first, and visitors second. That’s as it should be. But let’s see how it plays out. The needs of local residents definitely need to come first, but residents across the island and around all of Hawai’i rely heavily on tourism to pay the rent and feed their families. There will almost certainly be conflicting needs and desires, so we have to see how things play out over time.
I also like the introduction of the draft, which talks about Lahaina’s natural history and the people who lived here for centuries before white settlers brought mass tourism.
“Lahaina has long been a center of Native Hawaiian culture and history and is characterized by its unique setting at the base of Mauna Kahālāwai and nestled between Kahoma and Kauaʻula valleys,” the report states up front. “The three large streams of Kahoma, Kauaʻula and Kanahā flow out from the valleys—streams
which once fed Lahaina’s many loʻi kalo and wetlands, including the sacred sites of Loko o Mokuhinia and Mokuʻula. Lahaina holds great significance in Hawaiian history and culture and was greatly favored by aliʻi for its location, landscape, natural resources, and favorable climate.
“Over the past 200 years, Lahaina’s land use has gone through immense changes reflecting major shifts in the social, political and economic landscape of Maui and Hawaiʻi as a whole.”
The Wo Hing Temple Museum, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii before the fires. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Later the report gets into some specifics. Among the short-term recommendations are rebuilding the town, rebuilding affordable rental housing programs, expanding health care, improving emergency communication and creating a permanent memorial for the 102 people who died in the fire. Mid-term and long-term projects include rebuilding the West Maui Senior Centre, reducing and mitigating wildfire rises, providing more evacuation routes, developing a 25-mile multi-use trail (I love the sound of that), creating a cultural corridor, reforesting the city and preserving historic and cultural spaces.
It’s hard to argue with any of that. But the details will be key. What does “rebuilding the town” actually mean when it comes to street form and design? Do you allow shops to be built over the water, like many of them were on the west side of Front Street? Do you impose height limits? If so, how high? Do you impose design standards so the buildings will have some of the charm of old Lahaina?
And what, exactly, is a cultural corridor? Nobody will argue with honouring Hawaii’s history and with re-greening the city. I’d love to see a recreation of the old Hawaiian kingdom lands, Mokuʻula, which included a 17-acre pond surrounding an island where King Kamehameha III lived for eight years. I believe that’s a priority for the government, and I sure hope so. But what else would be in a cultural corridor? Will the county or state (or Bill Gates or Larry Ellison) rebuild the old Baldwin House? What about the lovely and educational Wo Hing Temple Museum?
I don’t see any answers yet. Still, it’s very encouraging to see a draft plan come into place. And it’s encouraging to see that authorities are saying the right things. Over the next few years, we’ll see what they actually do.
If you’re a Maui fan, here’s
