Embedded Files
Schedule
Schedule
Supplemental EIS Overall Schedule
EIS Preparation Notice (EISPN): A brief summary of the project will be prepared and distributed to state, county, and federal agencies for comment.
Community Scoping Meeting: A meeting will be held to gather community feedback, with a target date of December (year not specified).
Technical Studies: All sub-consultant reports (Traffic Impact Analysis, cultural documents, drainage reports, etc.) are requested no later than January 15, 2026.
Draft SEIS: The team aims to publish the Draft SEIS by April 1, 2026. This will undergo another formal review period.
Final SEIS: The goal for final completion of the process is September 30, 2026.
Meetings
Meetings
Members
Members
Joji Matsumoto: Program Manager, School Facilities Authority (SFA)
Liz Lee: Planning Officer, SFA
Kirk Tanaka: Civil Engineering Consultant for SFA
Michael (Mike) Summers: Planning Consultants Hawaii; leading the SEIS
John Summers: Planning Consultants Hawaii; assisting with the SEIS
Kainoa Harcadjo: SFA team; community outreach and cultural liaison
Hokuao Pellegrino: Cultural Consultant
Chris Hong: MKThink; assisting SFA with strategic planning and design
Shrab Rashid, Andrew Scher: Fehr and Peers; Traffic Consultant
Trevor Yucha: Project Manager, Cultural Surveys Hawaii; managing historic preservation review (SHPD)
David Sellers: Hawaii off-grid architecture group
State Land Use Commission
State Land Use Commission
2025/10/20 Mike Summers
Per HAR 11-200.1-30 a coordination meeting is required between the new Approving Agency (HISFA) and the original Approving Agency (State LUC) to confirm that a SEIS for the larger school is needed.
Scott suggested that we meet jointly with the Office of Planning & Sustainable Development (OPSD) and the State LUC. The meeting would have the following objectives:
Brief the OPSD and LUC on the proposed change to the original EIS;
Confirm the need for the SEIS because of the larger school's increased impacts, and;
Confirm that the HISFA will serve as the Approving Agency.
A new Administrator of the Land Use Division at OPSD will begin work the 1st week of November. Scott suggested we schedule the meeting during the 2nd week, so the Administrator will be available.
We can further discuss this at out 4 PM meeting tomorrow.
Zoning
Zoning
10/23/2025
Explanation for School Property and Zoning Discrepancy
There is a discrepancy between the official "school" district zoned in the Waikapu Country Town (WCT) ordinance (Maui County Code 19.96) and the actual boundaries of the current school property.
19.96
Map (Yellow is the new purchase)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A87Gb369WBnR1lesvPBx3kJ87GRbv10m/view?usp=sharing
This difference is the result of a project expansion that occurred after the original ordinance was established.
Original Plan: Initially, the WCT was planned to host only an elementary school. A separate middle school was slated for the Wai'ale Community Development.
Project Change: The Wai'ale project was terminated several years ago.
Site Expansion: Following the Wai'ale project's termination, Senator Hashimoto requested an expansion of the WCT school site so it could accommodate both an elementary and a middle school.
Land Acquisition: This expansion was achieved through a land purchase agreement for the "main street area," which was not part of WCT's original education contribution. [See map of acquired area: link]
This sequence of events is why the current school property does not align with the map in the existing ordinance.
Zoning Status
We consulted with Jefferey Ueoka, legal person for the WCT development, who opined that a zoning revision is not necessary.
Furthermore, we have presented our plan to the County planning department multiple times. While they did not raise this zoning discrepancy as an issue, we acknowledge that we have not yet explicitly asked for their formal confirmation on the matter.
Joji
10/24/2025
There is a pretty good argument for determining that the Main Street district allows for the proposed uses: These include:
The Main Street district identifies "open space", "civic uses", and "park" as permitted uses within the District. The proposed site plan identifies these types of uses occurring within the Main Street zoning. Note that we should overlay the zoning map onto the site plan to confirm this.
The Civic Building lot type is permitted within the Main Street district. The Civic Building lot type is described as: "A lot located and designed to accommodate public or quasi-public uses such as educational, religious, recreational, charitable, governmental, and philanthropic institutions." The Civic Building lot type is the appropriate lot type for the proposed school.
The Main Street district permits "Education, Specialized". While "Education Specialized" is not equivalent to "Education, General" it does permit education uses within the Main Street district.
The purpose of the Main Street district is to "create a second walkable town core to service Waikapu country town residents ..." The school frontage along Olohe Street will facilitate safe bicycling and walking to and from the school and to Main Street businesses. It will also create a beautiful, landscaped open space, establish civic uses, and a parklike setting along Olohe Street, which is consistent with the existing permitted uses within the Main Street district. Moreover, the proposed school will bring significant visitor traffic to Main Street, creating an economic engine for the business located along Main Street as well as demand for conveniently located housing. This is consistent with the purpose of the Main Street district.
On the other hand, the Planning Department could take a strict position, arguing that the open space, civic, and park-like uses proposed along Olohe Street are "accessory" to the "Education, general" use, which is not permitted within the Main Street district. They may also argue that "Education, specialized" is not equivalent to "Education, general".
Inevitably, the permissibility of the proposed use within the Main Street district needs to be confirmed with the Planning Department. Do you know if Jeffery Ueoka consulted with the Planning Department's Zoning Administration and Enforcement Division regarding this issue? If not, it would be prudent to engage the Department during the SEISPN and/or subdivision process.
All the best,
Mike
10/24/2025
No, unfortunately we haven’t run this by Planning.
If memory serves correctly, I thought we had discussed that the elements that would be in the Main Street District would be geared towards “civic space” uses which would be defined as, “[p]ublic uses that serve a unique community purpose such as a community green, square, plaza, park area, recreation facility, open space, playground, pedestrian path, bikeway, trail, roadway, community garden, farm plot, or natural or historic area worthy of preservation.” The list is not exhaustive, and it was my understanding that a “school” is a public use and that this school was intended to be a part of the community and the areas in the Main Street District would be geared towards the community. Of course, I know many things have changed since we first discussed this matter…so I’m not sure if this is still the case.
Mike brings up some excellent arguments, but since “education, general” is not specifically listed as a permitted use in the Main Street District, it may be helpful to reach out to ZAED to get a determination on whether the proposed uses in this specific area are allowed. This will determine whether we must go through the process to amend Chapter 19.96 to either allow “education, general” uses in the Main Street District or change the “zoning” of the area to the Residential or Education district.
The Subdivision is underway please see attached Preliminary Approval Letter, which contains the attached condition:
As Mike mentioned, the Civic Building “Lot Type” is allowed in the Main Street, Residential, and Education Districts, so we should be okay in that regard.
It may be best for Mike to reach out to ZAED as part of the SEISPN process. Hopefully Mike can convince them to allow the school’s proposed uses on the area so that we do not have to amend Chapter 19.96, MCC.
Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to further discuss.
Jeff
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