Lahaina rebuilding dilemma: Commission debates parking lot rezoning for Moku Roots

After three failed attempts to reach an agreement, the Maui Planning Commission finally secured a 5-2 vote Tuesday recommending rezoning of a Front Street lot crucial for customer parking for the new Moku Roots vegan restaurant planned for the former Chart House site in Lahaina.

The Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire destroyed the iconic restaurant along with much of historic Lahaina town. Known for its unobstructed ocean view, the Chart House featured fine steaks and seafood for patrons at its two-story, pitch-roofed building at the northernmost end of Front Street. In more recent years, it was quasi-abandoned and appeared to have fallen into disrepair.

Maui County property records show properties at 1448 and 1450 Front Street changed hands in late February 2023, less than six months before the wildfire. New owner Alexa Caskey of Knossos 1450 Front LLC is seeking County land use approvals to advance plans to locate Moku Roots at the former Chart House site bounded makai by Front Street and mauka by Honoapiʻilani Highway.

A vegan, farm-to-table establishment, Moku Roots previously served customers at the Lahaina Gateway shopping center, which was untouched by the wildfire. The restaurant gained recognition as Hawaiʻi’s Best Vegetarian Restaurant by Yelp in October 2020 and is known for its zero-waste practices. While awaiting County land use decisions, the business continues to operate by catering private events at its Kula farm and providing gourmet chefs for in-home dining and off-site catering, according to its website

The rezoning for B-2 Community Business District would clear the way for parking needed for the new restaurant, but the new land use designation could also open up for dozens of other, unintended uses, such as drive-in restaurants, farmers’ markets or swap meets. The commission’s recommendations return to the Maui County Council, which will make the final decision on the land-use matter.

The property is designated “neighborhood center” in the West Maui Community Plan, which the Planning Department says is consistent with the proposed B-2 business zoning.

For three hours Tuesday, commissioners struggled to balance plans by a local business to establish itself at a wildfire-destroyed property amid long-term concerns about climate change, sea-level rise and unwanted commercial uses, like a “fast-food joint.” The commission’s debate will likely serve as a prologue to the painful process of the lot-by-lot rebuilding of fire-ravaged Lahaina.

Planning commissioners were broadly supportive of Caskey’s plans. Rebuilding at the former Chart House site would require 42 parking spaces at the adjoining 14,467-square-foot lot. There were no objections to the parking lot. The Chart House owner was allowed to use the neighboring property as a parking lot under a conditional permit.

The restaurant lot is zoned B-2 business community district, and the parking lot is zoned R-1 residential. So, the issue for the County is whether to approve rezoning from residential to business for the parking lot, even though that was the former use and there are no plans to do anything else with the property.

Commissioner Mark Deakos was adamantly opposed to recommending approval of B-2 zoning, even though he supported the restaurant and parking lot proposal. He pointed out that rezoning the property could open it up to more intensive business uses, and he was concerned about climate change and sea-level rise at the property, which is a stone’s throw away from the ocean.

“They’re not going to have a lot of time before the ocean’s knocking,” he said.

Commission Chair Kim Thayer acknowledged such environmental concerns, but she also didn’t want to limit, through conditions, how the business might be able to adapt to sea-level rise.

Thayer stressed that the commission’s action was to make a recommendation to the County Council, which would ultimately determine what, if any, conditions are placed on the rezoned property. And, she said, that shoreline impacts would be addressed more properly during the commission’s consideration of a special management area permit.

She opposed commissioners going through the 30-something possible uses in B-2 business zoning to say “yes, no, yes, no,” for the use of a parking lot, calling that “silly.”

Commissioner Brian Ward said he supports local businesses in Lahaina where displaced people want to “get back to life” and a new sense of normal. “We need to help our community rebuild,” he said.

A first motion to require only a parking lot, which was the applicant’s sole request, failed. Two other motions failed to get the needed five votes because Deakos and Commissioners Andrea Kealoha and Crichton Lind were unsatisfied with proposals to approve the proposed rezoning with commission comments only.

Later, Lind changed his position, saying he accepted that shoreline impacts would be addressed later during the commission’s review of a special management area permit for proposed construction, if any. Deakos and Kealoha remained opposed and were on the dissenting end of the final 5-2 vote. (At least five votes were necessary for the commission to take action.)

That vote came with an agreement to summarize the commission’s concerns to the County Council. Those were:

• Supporting the community and local businesses.
• Enabling the parking lot and a solar-power canopy.
• Recognizing sea-level rise and the impacts of coastal processes.
• Acknowledging other permitted uses in B-2 zoning while giving the applicant flexibility in responding to sea-level rises and coastal processes.
• Contending that future development should not impede natural beach processes.

It’s not immediately known when the proposed parking lot rezoning will return to the County Council for its review.