The Maui County general plan and Wailuku-Kahului community plan recognize that the County will experience continued growth and development of the Wailuku-Kahului region for, among other uses, resort, commercial and residential use.

It is recognized that present and future development of the Wailuku-Kahului region will place severe burdens on existing public infrastructure such as major arterials and collector streets which are heavily used and at capacity levels. The County has determined that to maintain an acceptable level of road service and to preserve the quality of life in the region, a system of financing traffic and roadway improvements is needed to assess, on a pro-rata share basis, the reasonably anticipated costs of improving or expanding roadway and traffic facilities necessitated by new land development activity.

Pursuant to Part VIII, Chapter 46, HRS, this chapter is intended to promote public health, safety and welfare by providing a fair and equitable method of sharing the growth-related costs incurred by the County for road and traffic infrastructure improvements made necessary by expanded population levels and increased economic activity as provided for under the Maui County general plan and the Wailuku-Kahului community plan.

This chapter sets forth a regulatory scheme for the assessment and collection of impact fees to be borne on a pro-rata share basis by landowners and developers who directly contribute to expanding the population and increasing economic activity in the Wailuku-Kahului area through new land development activities. This chapter is intended to recover only a portion of the governmental expenditures related to growth. Existing residents will still be required to bear their appropriate share of the cost of the road network system.

It is also the intent of this chapter that the impact fee structure be reasonable, understandable and adaptable to changes in policies and conditions. (Ord. 3434 § 1 (part), 2007)

For the purpose of this chapter, unless it is plainly evident from the context that a different meaning is intended, certain words and phrases used in this chapter are defined as follows:

“Applicant” means an individual, partnership, corporation, trust or agent having the requisite authority, who has applied for a building permit or final subdivision approval.

“Arterial road” means a road which is a main traffic artery carrying relatively high traffic volumes for relatively long distances. This classification includes all roads which function above the level of a collector road.

“Base year road network system” means a study prepared by a qualified professional engineer licensed in the State of Hawaii which determines the vehicular impact new development will have upon the road network system. This study includes, but is not limited to: determination of trip generation, trip distribution, traffic assignment, capacity analysis, and improvements to the road system necessitated by the new development activity such as required new roads, additional laneage and signalization.

“Building” shall have the same meaning as defined in the uniform building code as adopted and amended by the County of Maui.

“Building permit” means an official document or certificate issued by the County authorizing the construction of any building or structure.

“Capacity” means the maximum number of vehicles for a given time period which a road can safely and efficiently carry, usually expressed in terms of vehicles per hour.

“Collector road” means a road which carries vehicular traffic from local roads to arterial roads. Collector roads have more continuity, carry higher vehicular traffic volumes, and may provide less access than local roads.

“Dwelling” shall have the meaning defined in the Maui County comprehensive zoning code, section 19.04.040 of this code, as amended.

“External trip” means any trip which either has its origins from or its destination to the development site and which impacts the major road network system.

“HRS” means Hawaii Revised Statutes.

“Internal trip” means a trip which has both its origin and destination within the development site.

“Local road” means a road designed and maintained primarily to provide access to abutting property. A local road is of limited continuity and is not for through vehicular traffic.

“New land development activity” means the carrying out of any building activity or the making of any material change in the use or appearance of any structure or land that attracts or produces vehicular trip(s) over and above that produced by the existing use of the land; provided, that this term shall not include uses which are of a duration not exceeding ninety days.

“Road network system” means all arterial and collector roads within the Wailuku-Kahului region, including new arterial and collector roads necessitated by land developments.

“Site related improvements” means road construction or road improvements at or near the development site which are necessary to interface the development’s external trips with the major road network system or which are necessary to interface the development’s internal trips with the major road network system where a portion of the major road network system is included within the development.

“Square foot” is computed by determining the total floor area under roof.

“Subdivision approval” means the approval for final plat recordation given by the County of Maui pursuant to title 18 of this code.

“Trip” means a one-way movement of vehicular travel from an origin point (one trip end) to a destination point (the other trip end). For the purposes of this chapter, trip shall have the meaning which it has in commonly accepted traffic engineering practice and which is substantially the same as that definition in the previous sentence.

“Trip generation” means the attraction or production of trips caused by a given type of land development.

“Wailuku-Kahului region” means the geographical area defined in the Wailuku-Kahului community plan.

“Wailuku-Kahului transportation plan” shall be the collective term for the transportation planning model, base year road network system and roadway master plan for Wailuku-Kahului. (Ord. 3434 § 1 (part), 2007)

Impact fees shall be charged and assessed for all new land development activities which create a need for additional roadway capacities. Impact fees shall be assessed in accordance with section 14.76.070, and shall be paid to the County upon issuance of any building permit. The collection of impact fees may be deferred by the director of finance for a specified period of time, not to exceed one year, provided that the applicant file with the County a surety bond or other security in the amount of the fee to assure payment to the County. If such deferral is granted by the director of finance, the director of finance shall report to the council on the period of deferral, the nature of security received from the developer and the justification for said deferral. (Ord. 3434 § 1 (part), 2007)

Under the Wailuku-Kahului community plan, new land development activity shall be coordinated with future provisions for adequate public services and facilities to ensure that infrastructure development such as roadways, are able to keep pace with population growth.

To promote orderly growth under the Wailuku-Kahului community plan, new land development activities should not be allowed to proceed without providing for necessary traffic improvements caused by such land developments. (Ord. 3434 § 1 (part), 2007)

The Wailuku-Kahului transportation plan shall be comprised of the following parts:

A. Transportation Planning Model. A transportation planning model study shall be established by a licensed professional engineer and made a part of this chapter. The transportation planning model shall be reviewed by the County department of planning not later than upon the fifth year from its adoption by resolution of the County council and every five years thereafter. The model shall be updated every five years or as needed. The transportation planning model is not intended as a prediction device. It is to provide a fair and equitable method of sharing growth-related costs of roadway improvement and to form the basis for a roadway master plan. The components of the transportation planning model utilized in this chapter shall contain the following parts:

1. Baseline data to assess the quality of traffic operations on the existing road network in the Wailuku-Kahului region. Information required includes roadway geometrics, intersection geometrics, number of vehicular travel lanes, traffic volumes, travel times, and traffic flow patterns;

2. Land use data, including the Maui County general plan, Wailuku-Kahului community plan, proposed new developments and amendments to the Maui County general plan and Wailuku-Kahului community plan, and the areas in which the existing zoning is not in conformity with the Wailuku-Kahului community plan;

3. Trip generation computation based on the number of vehicular trips generated by types of land uses and land developments based on standards adopted by the institute of transportation engineers, as may be adjusted for local conditions;

4. Trip distribution which breaks region into definable traffic zones for purposes of determining the number of trips distributed among various zones; and

5. Trip assignment or the assignment of trips for various zones on the specific roadways or routes.

B. Base Year Road Network System. The plan shall also establish a road network system to satisfactorily accommodate the traffic demand for the base year at a quality of operation of level of service “D,” as defined in “Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209” 1985, prepared by the Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, D.C.

C. Roadway Master Plan for Wailuku-Kahului. There shall be prepared a roadway master plan for Wailuku-Kahului which shall be made a part of this chapter, and shall include the following information:

1. All existing arterial highways, streets, local roads and collector roads, including rights-of-way;

2. Description of all new roadway rights-of-way widths and number of travel lanes;

3. Description of all new intersection improvements, including left turn storage lanes, right turn lanes, and traffic signal systems; and

4. Description of all new roadway facilities (i.e., circulation patterns and routes).

The objective of the roadway master plan for Wailuku-Kahului shall be to attain, at a minimum, an operating roadway capacity level of service “D,” on all major roads within the Wailuku-Kahului region.

Both the roadway master plan for Wailuku-Kahului and base year road network system shall be reviewed by the County department of planning annually during the month of January. Both the plan and road system shall be amended, if necessary, to conform with the Wailuku-Kahului community plan and shall be a projection of traffic and roadway improvements to the year 2015. The review shall consider recent trip generation rates, and construction costs for work constructed by the State of Hawaii or County of Maui, or both, for roadway improvements on the island of Maui. The review should analyze the effects of inflation on the costs of roadway construction and ensure the impact fees charged are reasonably related to the need for roads generated by such activity. Amendments to the roadway master plan for Wailuku-Kahului and the base year road network system shall be incorporated in the Wailuku-Kahului transportation plan through amendment of the ordinance adopting the Wailuku-Kahului transportation plan, as set forth in section 14.76.060. (Ord. 3434 § 1 (part), 2007)

The council shall initiate the development of the Wailuku-Kahului transportation plan upon the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter. The Wailuku-Kahului transportation plan shall be completed and submitted to the council within one year from the date the contract for said plan is awarded to a qualified professional engineer licensed to practice within the State of Hawaii and shall be incorporated as part of title 14, article 4 of this code, upon adoption by separate ordinance. (Ord. 3434 § 1 (part), 2007)

Impact fees shall be based on the following factors:

A. Impact of New Development. Vehicle trips generated by the new land development activity in excess of the rated capacity of the impacted roadway section(s) according to the transportation planning model and the base year road network system.

B. Overcapacity. A determination that a particular affected roadway section is at overcapacity shall be made when traffic demand exceeds capacity, based on the base year road network system. For purposes of this section, overcapacity shall mean the sum of:

1. The existing traffic on the road section; and

2. The estimated traffic on the road section due to new land development activity and developments approved on the Wailuku-Kahului community plan.

C. Master Plan Improvements. Impact fees may be collected only for roadway improvements included in the roadway master plan for Wailuku-Kahului.

D. Assessment of Cost. A schedule for determining traffic impact fees shall be established by the Wailuku-Kahului transportation plan. The fee rates will vary from zone to zone according to each zone’s cumulative impact on the roadway network.

The department of finance shall compute and collect impact fees from applicants upon issuance of building permits.

The director of finance may adopt rules to carry out the responsibilities under this section.

The following categories of uses shall serve as the basis for a fee schedule. This fee schedule may be modified by ordinance to reflect changes to the roadway master plan for Wailuku-Kahului.

1. Residential development:

a. Single-family dwelling;

b. Multi-family units (rental units);

c. Multi-family units (owner-occupant);

d. Retirement community.

2. Nonresidential development:

a. General business office:

i. Less than or equal to one hundred thousand sq. ft.,

ii. One hundred thousand one through one hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine sq. ft.;

iii. Greater than two hundred thousand sq. ft.;

b. Medical office building;

c. Hospital;

d. Nursing home;

e. General recreation;

f. General light industrial;

g. General heavy industrial;

h. General commercial (retail);

i. Shopping center:

i. Under fifty thousand sq. ft.,

ii. Fifty thousand through ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine sq. ft.,

iii. One hundred thousand through one hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine sq. ft.,

iv. Two hundred thousand through two hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine sq. ft.,

v. Three hundred thousand through three hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine sq. ft.,

vi. Four hundred thousand through four hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine sq. ft.,

vii. Five hundred thousand through nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine sq. ft.,

viii. One million through one million two hundred fifty thousand sq. ft.,

ix. Over one million two hundred fifty thousand sq. ft.;

j. Restaurant;

k. Resort - hotel;

l. Resort - condominium;

m. Motel/hotel (nonresort);

n. Banks;

o. Service station.

(Ord. 3434 § 1 (part), 2007)

There shall be created a special fund entitled the “Wailuku-Kahului roadway improvement fund” which shall serve as the exclusive depository of all funds collected pursuant to this chapter. All moneys from this fund shall be designated and used for traffic and roadway improvements and shall include, but not be limited to, increasing the safety, efficiency and capacity of arterial and collector roads; construction of left and right turn lanes; construction and expansion of bridges; design, construction and/or plan preparation; right-of-way acquisition; relocating utilities to accommodate new roadway construction; addition of public parking areas; improving traffic circulation patterns to accommodate mass transit use; improvements to traffic signalization and patterns; studies and plans to further the above stated purposes. Funds collected and deposited are to be used specifically for roadway and traffic improvements in the Wailuku-Kahului region and not for other general revenue purposes. Funds can be made available to the State for State highway or traffic improvements; provided, that such funds are used only in the Wailuku-Kahului region and a written agreement is reached between the County and State to this effect. It is not the purpose of this chapter to assess or collect moneys from any new land development activity generating traffic in excess of the actual amount necessary to affect the demand on the major roadway network caused by such new land development activity. (Ord. 3434 § 1 (part), 2007)

In carrying out its responsibilities, the department of finance may retain two per cent of the total funds collected to offset costs associated with the collection of these funds. (Ord. 3434 § 1 (part), 2007)

A. Within fifteen days after receiving a written notice, the applicant affected or the owner of the land development activity generating traffic may challenge the department of finance fee determination and request a hearing from the Maui planning commission. After receiving a written request, the Maui planning commission shall schedule a hearing and provide the affected building permittee or owner with advanced written notice, by certified mail, of the time and place of the hearing. The applicant or landowner challenging the fee may provide the Maui planning commission with an independent traffic study. If the building permittee requesting the hearing is not the owner of the land development activity, notice of the hearing shall also be provided to the owner. The Maui planning commission shall conduct the hearing according to its rules of practice and procedure and other applicable rules. The hearings shall be governed under chapters 91 and 92, HRS.

B. The hearing shall be designed to obtain all information and evidence relevant to the impact fee assessed and the dispute concerning it. After the hearing, the Maui planning commission shall make a determination in writing stating the reasons for the decision regarding any matters in dispute. A copy of the written determination shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested to the applicant affected, the present owner, and the director of finance. (Ord. 3434 § 1 (part), 2007)

The fees collected pursuant to this chapter shall be returned to the applicant if they have not been spent or encumbered by the end of the calendar quarter immediately following six years from the date paid; provided, that the following procedures are complied with:

A. The applicant must petition the director of finance for the refund within one year following the end of the sixth year from the date on which the fee was paid.

B. The petition must be submitted to the department of finance and must contain:

1. A notarized sworn statement that the petitioner is the payor or is otherwise authorized to collect the fees;

2. A copy of the dated receipt issued for payment of the fee;

3. A certified copy of a deed or other document showing current ownership or right to possession of the land on which the development was proposed; and

4. A copy of the most recent real property tax bill.

C. Within one month from the date of receipt of a petition for refund, the director of finance shall advise the petitioner of the status of the fee requested for refund. For the purposes of this section, fees collected shall be deemed to be spent (encumbered) on the basis of the first fee in shall be the first fee out. In other words, the first money placed in a trust fund account shall be the first money taken out of that account when withdrawals have been made. (Ord. 3434 § 1 (part), 2007)

A. The following shall be exempted from payment of the impact fee:

1. Alterations or expansion of an existing dwelling unit where no additional units are created and the use is not changed;

2. The construction of accessory buildings or structures, as defined in chapter 19.04 of this code, which will not increase the traffic counts;

3. The replacement of an existing building or structure with a new building or structure of the same size and use which will not increase the traffic counts;

4. The construction of publicly owned governmental buildings; or

5. The construction of government-sponsored affordable housing projects.

B. Credits.

1. In lieu of paying the impact fee, a landowner or developer may elect, in addition to site-related improvements, to construct part of the road network system or dedicate lanes for roadway improvements. The developer shall submit a proposal and a cost estimate, certified by an architect or engineer licensed to practice in the State of Hawaii, to the department of finance. The director of finance in consultation with the County departments of planning and public works and environmental management shall evaluate whether the proposed construction is an appropriate substitute for the impact fee assessed. If appropriate, the director of finance shall recommend to the council the amount of credit to be accepted and the timetable for completion of the proposed construction. Acceptance of the recommendation of the director of finance shall be by resolution of the council. If a developer has dedicated lands, an appraisal shall be submitted to the department of finance indicating the fair market value of said lands.

2. Credit for construction costs given to the applicant shall be repaid by the County from new land development activities coming on line in the future.

3. Credit for transportation management systems which alleviate the need for additional roadway capacities or traffic improvement shall also be recognized and given the applicant. (Ord. 3434 § 1 (part), 2007)