Gutschmidt v. Maui Planning Commission

── Gutschmidt v. Maui Planning Commission ── Court: Hawaii Supreme Court Date: May 22, 2026 Category: General *** FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER *** Electronically Filed Supreme Court SCOT-XX-XXXXXXX 22-MAY-2026 09:12 AM Dkt. 91 OP IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAIʻI ---oOo--- ________________________________________________________________ DREW GUTSCHMIDT, ANDREW BLACK, MICHAEL MORRISON, TERRI MORRISON, ASH SAULSBURY, and LILA TRETIKOV, Individuals, Appellants, vs. MAUI PLANNING COMMISSION, COUNTY OF MAUI; and GOODFELLOW BROS., LLC., a domestic limited liability company, Appellees. ________________________________________________________________ SCOT-XX-XXXXXXX APPEAL FROM THE MAUI PLANNING COMMISSION (MPC DOCKET NO. SUP 220210001) McKENNA, ACTING C.J., GINOZA, AND EDDINS, JJ., AND CIRCUIT JUDGE JOHNSON, IN PLACE OF DEVENS, C.J., RECUSED, AND CIRCUIT JUDGE DeWEESE, ASSIGNED BY REASON OF VACANCY MAY 22, 2026 OPINION OF THE COURT BY GINOZA, J. I. Introduction Appellants are Drew Gutschmidt, Andrew Black, Michael Morrison, Terri Morrison, Ash Saulsbury, and Lila Tretikov *** FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER *** (Appellants), all residents or owners of property in the Makila Plantation neighborhood in Launiupoko, Maui. The Appellee is Goodfellow Bros., LLC (Goodfellow), who applied for a special use permit (SUP) to engage in rock-crushing on approximately twelve acres of fallow agricultural land about a mile away from the Makila Plantation neighborhood. At issue in this matter is whether the Maui Planning Commission (MPC) properly denied Appellants’ untimely petition to intervene in Goodfellow’s SUP public hearing. Appellants also challenge the issuance of the SUP. We hold that the MPC properly denied Appellants’ petition to intervene because Appellants did not show good cause as to why they waited until the eve of the public hearing to file a petition to intervene. Therefore, we do not reach the merits of Appellants’ challenge to the issuance of the SUP. II. Background A. Goodfellow’s SUP Application In January 2021, Goodfellow submitted a Land Use Commission (LUC) Special Permit Application to the Maui Planning Department (MPD) for a project titled “Rock Crushing Site Makila Ranches II Lot 10.” The project land is zoned for agricultural use under the State Land Use Plan, the Maui Island Plan, and the West Maui Community Plan. It is outside the growth boundaries of the Maui Island Plan. Goodfellow described the property as “undeveloped, vacant, and fallow land that is enclosed by a 2 *** FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER *** fence[,]” surrounded by “fallow, vacant agricultural lands in all directions.” The soil is characterized as “generally stony and silty clay.” Goodfellow proposed to use the land as a “temporary rock crushing facility” that will process rocks for commercial use as “aggregate for local construction.” The rocks would be extracted from the site itself or trucked over from off-site. The rocks would then be crushed and stockpiled on-site until sold. The project was intended to “establish a local source for aggregate” for West Maui construction projects. Goodfellow did not plan to crush rock mate