Four planning efforts are in motion around Wailea this fall. Each sits at a different step, and each still has approvals ahead.
Wailea is a 1,500-acre master-planned community. Its remaining undeveloped parcels, and large tracts mauka of the resort, are the subject of several proposals now in review. Here is where each one stands as of early November 2026.
What Is the South Maui Community Plan, and Why Does It Matter in Wailea?
The South Maui Community Plan will replace the 1998 Kīhei-Mākena Community Plan. It maps where and how growth can happen. Maui County Planning Director Jacky Takakura has stated that the plan does not approve individual projects, which still go through their own County reviews.
A Maui County Council committee began its line-by-line review in September. Committee Chair Tamara Paltin has said the review is slower than expected and the final plan is unlikely to be approved by the current Council, according to Civil Beat. Committee changes return to the Maui Planning Commission before a final Council vote.
Ledcor’s 273 Residences Near Wailea ʻIke Drive
Ledcor Maui has applied for a Special Management Area permit and Planned Development approvals for three communities on the B1, MF-16 and MF-10 parcels. The plan totals 273 residences: 233 market-rate homes, four employee units and 36 workforce rentals. Ledcor states that commercial and short-term rental uses are not part of the application.
The 36 rentals on MF-10 would be deed-restricted in perpetuity under the County’s workforce housing code. Ledcor describes them as a first in the Wailea resort area. Ledcor also intends to transfer about 2.5 acres of open space on the B2 parcel to Ulu-a-Paeahu, a newly formed nonprofit.
On October 27, the Maui Planning Commission granted a petition to intervene filed by five Native Hawaiian residents, who raised concerns about water, cultural resources and burial sites. The Commission sent both sides to mediation, with a December 27 deadline.
If mediation does not resolve the issues, the matter moves to a contested case hearing before the Commission. The project does not yet have approval to build.
Honuaʻula, Mauka of Wailea
Honuaʻula covers about 670 acres mauka of the Wailea resort, with plans for 1,150 homes. In August 2025, the County Council amended the project’s conditions to require at least 288 workforce units.
The project is tied to widening Piʻilani Highway to four lanes between Kilohana Drive and Wailea ʻIke Drive. Workforce units could rise by 50, to 338, if the State Department of Transportation completes that widening by 2030, as reported by Maui Now.
On August 6, 2026, the Hawaiʻi Intermediate Court of Appeals sent the matter back to the Maui Planning Commission. The Commission must decide whether changes since the project’s 2012 environmental impact statement call for a supplemental review before its Phase II approval can stand.
Mākena Mauka
On August 11, 2026, the Maui Planning Commission accepted the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Mākena Mauka. The plan calls for 652 homes mauka of Mākena Alanui Road, including 109 on-site workforce units, down from the 900 first proposed.
Accepting an EIS is not an approval to build. Parts of the project still need Land Use Commission, County Council and Special Management Area approvals.
How Soon Could Any of This Be Built?
A community plan map shows where growth could go over many years. It is not a construction schedule.
In September, Takakura wrote that many already-approved South Maui projects, including Honuaʻula, may be decades away, as reported by Maui Now.
What to Watch Next
Three decisions will shape the picture: the Council committee’s pace on the Community Plan, the outcome of the Ledcor mediation, and the Commission’s Honuaʻula review. Council and Planning Commission meetings are public, and anyone may submit testimony on agenda items.
Official Resources
- Maui County Council: mauicounty.us
- South Maui Community Plan: southmaui.wearemaui.org
- Maui Planning Commission agendas: mauicounty.gov/AgendaCenter
- Ledcor Maui project updates: ledcormaui.com
- Mākena Mauka permitting: makenapermitting.com
- Wailea Community Association: wcamaui.com
Jolanta’s Feedback
I moved to Maui in 2000, and I have watched Wailea change over the years. Each proposal matters to the people who live, work and care for this place, and their views differ.
Every project moves through a public process with room for many voices. The official documents and public hearings are the clearest way to follow along and form your own view.
For general information only. Project details are drawn from public records and news reports as of November 8, 2026, and are subject to change. Please verify with the official sources above.
Jolanta Frazier, REALTOR®, Broker R(B) · Coldwell Banker Island Properties, Wailea · 808.818.8313
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