Author Archives: Megan Stephenson

Maui County officials are encouraging residents and businesses to submit their individual damage reports to the Civil Defense Agency, through the county website.

The information will ensure the county has a “complete picture of the scope of damage caused by the March 11 tsunami,” according to a news release.

“To some people it was a disaster, but…until we get these assessments we don’t know what we [county] qualify for,” said Rod Antone, communications director.

The damage reports collected so far on Molokai, gathered by local police and Red Cross volunteers over last weekend, will also go to the county. Antone stressed that individuals must file their own flood insurance, and any funding the county gets from the state from these damage reports will go toward “improving entire communities.”

He added businesses not physically affected by the flood could still report damage, if for example, a road closure prevented business to be conducted.

Gov. Abercrombie signed a “state of disaster proclamation” earlier this week, alloing the state to receive federal funds, according to a report by CNN.com. The governor said statewide the tsunami caused tens of millions of dollars’ worth of damage.

“We’re the only county with more [than one] island; its more difficult for us to assess what’s going on,” Antone said.

Residents can report their home or businesses damage through a report found at the county website, mauicounty.gov. The deadline is this Friday, March 18.

The Molokai Community Plan, last updated in 2001, is on the move after holding community engagement workshops last October. Up next is for the Molokai Planning Commission is to choose a Plan Advisory Committee.

The Maui County Council will choose nine of the 13 members on the advisory committee, and Mayor Alan Arakawa will choose the other four.

David Yamashita, planning supervisor from the Long Range Division of the county, said that they are a looking at a variety of plans for Molokai, including environmental resources, historic and cultural resources, economic, land use and development, housing and infrastructure.

Changes in Permitting Process
The MoPC has also moved forward in their proposed changes for the Special Area Management (SMA) rules.  Planning Commission Chairman Steve Chaikin said many of the rules in the permitting process required some “housecleaning,” since they have not been updated since 1989.

Currently, residents who do not apply for an SMA permit but move ahead on construction can see upwards of $1,000 per day fines. The commission recommends increasing the fine to $10,000 per day.
Shoreline setback areas were also given cleaner definitions.

 For example, fishponds would be defined as a fixed shoreline, along with its current definition of “natural stabilized geographic features such as cliffs and rock formations.”

The new rules also state that desired construction projects should be 150 feet “from the high wash of the waves,” and applications must be published in newspapers at least once before the commission meeting at which it is presented.

“We’re doing this to get rid of some of the inconsistencies,” Chaikin said.

The Maui County Planning Commission will first take a look at the changes before presented to the Molokai community.

New Faces on Planning Commission