Title 16 — Buildings & Construction Plain-Language Service Free · no account

A plain-language navigator to Maui County Code Title 16 (Buildings & Construction): a live parcel lookup, how the building-permit process works, which permit you need, the codes that apply, enforcement, and the disaster-recovery track for Lāhainā. The County's official application, payment, and inspection system is MAPPS — this service explains the law and hands you off to MAPPS at the application step; it does not replace the County's record. This is a first version — sections marked expanding are being filled in from the ingestion corpus; nothing here is legal advice.

★ Parcel lookup live data

Before you build, check the parcel. Enter a Maui County TMK (tax map key) to see its designations — county zoning, community plan, state land-use district, and especially whether it sits in a Special Management Area (SMA) or on Important Ag Land, both of which add review to a building permit. Pulled live from the Hawaiʻi Statewide GIS. For this parcel's actual permit and inspection history (not in GIS), the result links you to MAPPS.

Live designations: Hawaiʻi Statewide GIS — Parcels & Zoning. Permits/inspections via Maui County MAPPS (Development Services Administration). No parcel data is stored or fabricated — every field is fetched live. address search; SMA building-review overlay

1 · How a building permit works sourced

The general path a building permit takes under Title 16, administered by Public Works — Development Services Administration (DSA). Each step notes the expense and who bears it today. Applications are online-only through MAPPS.

1. Create a MAPPS account
   You must have a MAPPS Customer Self-Service (CSS) account to apply online. Free to register.
   Expense: free · paid by: you (time)
2. Prepare stamped plans
   Construction plans must be prepared and stamped by a design professional licensed in the State of Hawaiʻi (for work that requires it).
   Expense: design fees · paid by: applicant
3. Apply & upload in MAPPS
   Complete every step in MAPPS CSS, then upload the required documents and plans for your application (building, electrical, plumbing, grading, driveway, or demolition).
   Expense: application + plan-review fees · paid by: applicant
4. Plan review & agency routing
   Your submittal is routed to the Building Plans Review Section and any approving agencies — Planning, Fire, Water, and others depending on scope and location (SMA parcels get extra review).
   Expense: County staff review · paid by: County (+ applicant fees)
5. Permit issued → build → inspections
   Once approved, the permit issues. Request inspections in MAPPS CSS (My Work → Request Inspections) at each required stage.
   Expense: inspection fees · paid by: applicant
6. Certificate of Occupancy
   For applicable projects, a Certificate of Occupancy is issued after final approval — the building may then be lawfully occupied.
   Expense: final approval · paid by: applicant

County of Maui Building Permit & Development Services Administration (DSA); apply via MAPPS — DSA Building Permit ↗. Process summarized in plain language; exact requirements & fees are with DSA / in the cited chapters. per-permit fee schedule

2 · Which permit do you need? sourced

DSA administers the County's building, electrical, plumbing, grading, driveway and related construction permits. Start each from MAPPS.

Permit types from County of Maui DSA (administers building, electrical, plumbing, grading & related ordinances) + MAPPS Permits. Confirm the exact application type in MAPPS. per-permit document checklists

3 · Title 16 chapters — the codes that apply sourced

Maui adopts model codes (with County amendments) inside Title 16. Building-permit applications submitted on or after October 28, 2023 must comply with the editions below. Verify the exact section on Municode before relying on it.

Maui County Code Title 16 (Buildings & Construction), Municode · code editions & Oct 28 2023 effective date per County Building Plans Review Section. Title 16 spans §§16.04B.010–16.28.040. full chapter list + per-chapter amendments from the ingestion corpus

4 · Lāhainā & disaster recovery recovery track

After the August 2023 wildfire, the County stood up a dedicated disaster-recovery building-permit track in MAPPS for West Maui / Lāhainā rebuilds.

County of Maui MAPPS — DSA Disaster Recovery Building Permit. recovery fee waivers & expedited-review criteria

5 · Enforcement & civil fines sourced

Building violations under Title 16 are reachable through the same County enforcement engine as zoning. Not legal advice.

Title 19's enforcement chapter, §19.530.030, expressly reaches violations of Maui County Code titles 8, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19 and 20 plus related rules and permits. So a Title 16 building violation can be pursued by a director through a notice of violation and order that may require cease-and-desist, correction by a date, and/or administrative civil fines, with the order becoming final after 30 days unless appealed to the Board of Variances and Appeals (an appeal does not stay the order). Title 16's own Ch. 16.13 carries the administrative procedures & civil-fines framework specific to building matters.

The assessment schedule that implements §19.530.030 is Rule §15-2 (Title MC-15, eff. 9/3/1993) — one cross-title rule covering Buildings (16), Subdivisions (18) & Zoning (19). Building-relevant civil fines (initial / per-day): building w/o a permit $200 / $50; electrical or plumbing w/o a permit $200 / $200; occupying w/o a certificate of occupancy $50 / $50; construction not following approved plans $200 / $50; not complying with a stop-work order $1,000 / $100; unsafe buildings / hazardous occupancies $1,000 / $100. Continuing violation: the daily fine doubles each 30-day period (max $1,000/day); appeals to the Board of Variances and Appeals or Board of Code Appeals. Full cross-title schedule in the Title 19 service §4B ↗.

Maui County Code Ch. 19.530 (Enforcement) — §19.530.030 reach + the implementing Rule §15-2 (MC-15, mauicounty.gov ↗) covering Titles 16/18/19; full table in the Title 19 service §4B + Title 16 Ch. 16.13. Ch. 16.13 building-code-specific penalty provisions

6 · Who pays — the charter lens analysis

Labeled analysis — the same provision read through two charters. Not adopted law; an interpretive lens beside the Code.

7 · Rules → Code: candidates for codification analysis

• Civil-fine schedule. The building civil-fine amounts live in administrative Rule §15-2 (now sourced & surfaced in §5), not in Title 16 itself. → Codify a single readable penalty schedule into the Code so a builder reads their exposure from Title 16 directly, not a separate Water-Supply rule.
• Plan-review timelines. Review turnaround lives in practice, not the Code. → Codify a plan-review SLA so applicants have an enforceable expectation. expanding
• Disaster-recovery expedite criteria. The Lāhainā recovery track's fee treatment and expedited-review rules are administrative. → Codify the recovery standard so it survives past any one administration. expanding

Analysis grounded in MCC Title 16 + Ch. 19.530; admin-rule contents expanding pending verbatim ingest.