Latest News at Kuau Bayview at Paia

• Christmas tree sale at Camp Maluhia on 12/6 and 12/13 8am-1pm. Guests select their live tree on the Camp land, Scouts cut down and wrap the tree. Price is per foot length. Funds benefit Maui Scouts programming.

2025-11-24 Meeting at Paia Community Center re homeless encampment near PYCC:

• UPDATE: Turns out the invasion was attempted the night after the meeting (Tuesday) but MPD and the Park Rangers blocked them and will be standing guard for a few more days.
• The meeting was really well-attended being standing-room-only. It was rather difficult to hear every word (no mic's) but I'll do my best to summarize. Please bear in mind that this is merely my perspective.
• The meeting was called by concerned Paia families, generations of whom were born and raised in Paia. They feel their hometown threatened because the non-profit Holomua Outreach is secretly planning to establish an illegal homeless encampment on the grassy area between PYCC and Baldwin Beach on Thanksgiving Day. The County is not behind this. In fact, they strongly oppose it.
• A few minutes after starting, a Hawaiian man tried to hijack the meeting and justify why the encampment was lawful citing some unspecified law that gives Hawaiians the right to perform cutural rites on Hawaii's beaches. He was politely asked to cede control back to the young woman who was running the meeting. Setting up a long-term camp on County land is a far cry from performing cultural rites.
• I estimate there were about 250 attendees. All but four were adamantly against the encampment. The four tried (but failed) to guilt everyone into feeling selfish and heartless for not caring enough about other human beings.
• I think I can safely say that every person in that room feels compassion for the less fortunate. That is not the point. People are against the LOCATION, not the people. There is indignation that Holomua Outreach did not consult or even inform the Paia community of their plans. They have no permits, no SMA exemptions, no permission from anyone, but they have elaborate plans (see excerpt below) and apparently have vowed to resort to violence if necessary, breaking locked gates etc.
• Maui County has devoted many $Millions over the years to houseless programs, mental health programming, and substance abuse programs resulting in the problems only becong worse. The big obstacle is that most of the unhoused refuse shelter because they don't want to be subject to rules such as no drugs and curfew times. IMO to receive public benefits, accepting shelter and employment/community service should be mandatory. There are plenty of jobs that need doing... picking up trash along the highways, towns, or beaches, cleaning graffiti, sweeping sidewalks, helping at Maui Humane Society, helping at recycling centers, cutting Haole Koa along roadways... the options are endless.
• Supposedly the homeless are being transplanted, not from Holomua, but from Maui Lani. No doubt the Holomua houseless would also prefer oceanfront property now that they have caused so many fires and accumulated so much trash & so many untitled/stolen/junked vehicles along Holomua. Holomua Rd will soon be gated at both ends because of the huge fire danger the encampments have created for Paia. Emergency vehicles are called to Holomua almost daily. Not to mention the Sept 23/25 Holomua Rd Fire started by an arsonist that required evacuations along Baldwin Ave and burned for four days.
• Once word gets out that anyone can come to Maui and live for free on a beautiful beach while being served free food, free clothing, free toiletries, free laundry service, mobile drug delivery service, free trash removal, and for MAPs, conveniently located next to a youth center, the encampment will grow to rival Paia's population in no time.
• Major concerns expressed were (1) for the safety of children at the Paia Youth & Cultural Center being right nextdoor to drug addicts, the mentally ill, and criminals. Of course, not all the unhoused are dangerous, but enough are to make parents understandably nervous; it takes only one to kidnap or harm a child; (2) lack of sanitation/pollution of the land & ocean; (3) general filth and trash accumulation; (4) the increase of crime in Paia will put struggling merchants out of business as happened two years ago when every doorstoop was expropriated by unsavory characters; (5) tourists will once again not feel safe visiting Paia.
• It was suggested that everyone show up at the beach on Thanksgiving Day with their own tents so that there would be no room for anyone else to set up camp. One man generously offered to feed everyone.
• Residents were encouraged to call the Mayor's office at 808-270-7855, but it may be more effective for everyone to call the Department of Human Services and whatever office issues grants to Maui Grassroots Collective 501(c)3 and have their non-profit status revoked. Cut off the money source and their ability to disrupt communities with civil disobedience will be neutralized.
• Suggestion: I think a perfect location for the houseless would be behind Target where there is access to water, food, and electricity. Surely this unused land could be used at least temporarily to solve the homeless problem. Liability waivers could be used to protect the landowner from liability. Tiny homes, tents, containers could provide shelter. The land behind Target & Lowes is owned by A&B Properties, which has donated 23 acres of this land for residential housing development. This acquisition is part of a larger effort to prioritize cultural values and address housing needs in the area, so why not house the houseless until such time as the land is developed.

Holomua Outreach is funded by Maui Rapid Response which was established in 2019 and later founded Maui Grassroots Collective 501(c)3 in 2024. Maui Rapid Response supports frontline services and supplies for Maui's unsheltered families and individuals. MRR includes Maui Rescue Mission, Share Your Mana, Chili on Wheels Maui, Kupuna Kits, Homeless Hunger Heroes, and PUEDO. Holomua Outreach justifies their claim on public land based on Kanawai Mamalahoe, or Law of the Splintered Paddle translated as sanctity of life law originating with King Kamehahmeha I in 1797. The law was created as a result of an incident when Kamehameha was on a military expedition in Puna. His party encountered a group of commoners on a beach. While chasing two fishermen who had stayed behind to cover the retreat of a man carrying a child, Kamehameha's leg was caught in the reef. One of the fisherman, Kaleleiki, hit him mightily on the head with a paddle in defense, which broke into pieces. Kamehameha could have been killed at that point, but the fisherman spared him. Years later, the same fisherman was brought before Kamehameha. Instead of ordering for him to be killed, Kamehameha ruled that the fisherman had only been protecting his land and family, and so the Law of the Splintered Paddle was declared. This homeless group has vowed to resort to violence if needed. This 1797 law is their justification even though the Law of the Splintered Paddle applied only during times of war.

UPDATE: I walked the shoreline between PYCC and Baldwin Beach on Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025 between 6:30 and 7:30pm and back along the bike path. There was no activity whatsoever in the areas in question. I encountered 8 official signs: GOVERNMENT PROPERTY - NO TRESPASSING - HRS 708-814 - Criminal Trespass II, two on each yellow gate, and one on each end of the area. There are probably more (it was very dark). The gate they are most likely to use is actually two gates; the inner one has a very heavy chain & lock. I can't imagine anyone getting through these gates without a bulldozer. The whole time a Maui Police vehicle was sitting with blue lights flashing at the Hana Hwy entrance to Baldwin Beach. Granted this was the night before but you'd think there would be some signs of preparation. I would be very surprised if this invasion happens at all.

• By way of comparison to the $135 per year Kuau Bayview dues, the average HOA fee for single-family homes in Maui typically ranges from $600 to $3600 per year, depending on the community and services provided.
• The biggest concerns in Kuau Bayview during 2025 included trouble caused by teenagers attending events at PCC, the threat of fire posed by Haole Koa in the Park Retention Basin & on Lot 76 & 28, excess street parking & loud parties by tenants of rented houses, and the Parks Department delaying the repair of the RB fence by 8 months already.
• SB1387 SD1 HD2 CD1 requires dog & cat owners to microchip their pets. Took effect 1/1/2022.

• KB House Sales:

• 2025: Lot 24 sold June 9/25 for $1.5 Million, Lot 27 sold July 15/25 for $1.38 Million.
• 2024: Lot 47 sold Jan 5/24 for $1.875 Million, a record high price.
• Hawaii Fireworks Laws: Using aerial fireworks without a permit or license can be prosecuted as a Class C felony. Licensed applicants must have a pyrotechnics license from the State of Hawaii, among other requirements. For those celebrating in their driveways, fireworks can be legally set off only from 9 pm Dec 31st to 1 am New Year's Day.
• We had a Water Department worker check the water pressure in Kuau Bayview. It was almost 100 psi at several houses. The pressure for residential houses should be between 50 and 60 psi. Apparently the pressure reducers installed when the houses were built wear out after 20 years such that the water now flows through at full pressure. This can cause pipes and water heaters to burst. You can buy a pressure gauge for about $10 at Home Depot to test your pressure by screwing it onto your hose bib. A new pressure reducer costs about $83 at Home Depot.

Reporting Streetlight Outages

You can now report faulty street lights online by clicking here. You can still report any streetlight or utility pole problems by calling the MECO Trouble Line at 871-9777.

Hawaii Energy Rebates

The Refrigerator Trade-Up offer gives you a $150 rebate for purchasing a new, ENERGY STAR® refrigerator and for trading in your old but operational one.