Whose Future?: Community Planning in West Maui

Using a wide range of archival materials as well as interviews with members of the West Maui Community Plan Advisory Committee, Lisa Huynh Eller pieces together the story of how the West Maui community struggled to determine the plan for its land use.

More than merely a cautionary tale about the limits of the community planning process, the story of the 2021 West Maui Community Plan takes on renewed significance for the people of West Maui in the wake of the August 2023 wildfire as the industrial disaster relief and rebuilding complex pulls West Maui communities in multiple and contradictory directions.

From one point of view, the West Maui Community Plan can be seen as a weak compromise regarding appropriate uses of land in West Maui—appropriate as to the desires and wishes of the West Maui people—that over time may turn out to be ignored or conveniently forgotten. From another perspective, however, it also serves as a high-water mark for community involvement in the community planning process in Maui and Hawai’i.

• Lisa Huynh Eller, Author

  Lisa Huynh Eller is a longtime writer and communications professional based out of Hilo, Hawaiʻi. She owns Big Blue Studio, a small business providing communications support to nonprofits and businesses.