Already years behind schedule, the Maui County General Plan update could be looking at further delays, as the volunteer committee tasked with reviewing it has asked for a three-month extension.

Committee members acknowledged the delay but said hours of public testimony and the plodding pace of meetings that give all 25 members of the volunteer board a chance to speak have made for slow going.

After waiting more than a year to get a draft from county planners, the panel had six months to review the document and make recommendations but isn't on track to meet its deadline.

The committee has asked for an extension from October to the end of January. The request must be approved by the Maui County Council.

"We're making progress," said GPAC member Doug MacCluer. "It's just slower than we wished."

Once updated, the General Plan would map growth on Maui for the next 20 years. The GPAC has already finished review of a policy plan and is currently working on a Maui Island Plan, which includes maps delineating "urban growth boundaries" that would limit development.

After the GPAC review, the plan goes to the Maui Planning Commission for comment, then to the Maui County Council for a final decision.

Some of the delay in the draft review may stem from a difference in philosophies about the committee's role.

Speaking Friday, Planning Director Jeff Hunt said his department originally thought that the GPAC would simply provide comments on the plan, which his staff would then use to make revisions before sending it to the next step. Instead, the panel decided to re-draft and revise the plan by committee, he said.

"That's a process that takes longer than six months," he said.

Every time the plan is delayed, more development is approved under the old plan, he said.

"We understand the need for more time," he said. "At the same time, we really want to get the plan adopted."

County Council Member Gladys Baisa, who chairs the council's Planning Committee, said she would wait to see the extension request before she made up her mind on it.

She felt "between a rock and a hard place."

"If we tell them no, what are they going to do?" she said.

As proposed by the Planning Department, the draft anticipates more than 40,000 new housing units on the island by 2030, of which around 24,800 are expected within projects that are already approved.

Some GPAC members have challenged the department's approach, which plans housing for the growth anticipated by population forecasts; they argue that the county should instead plan for the population it wants to have in 20 years.

While wrestling with the plan's policies and maps, the committee is also hearing from residents and developers appealing to have their lands included in growth areas.

Olowalu residents turned out in droves at a meeting in August to support a new community proposed for their area, and MacCluer said he was impressed by the outpouring.

"I will certainly take that testimony into consideration," he said.

But county planners urged GPAC members to adopt their own criteria for growth, then look for projects that fit - not add developments to the plan because of an attractive sales pitch.

The county has not supported the Olowalu Town development, proposed for an undeveloped swath of old plantation land miles outside of Lahaina, because of the lack of infrastructure and potential traffic impacts.

Developer Bill Frampton has countered that his project, envisioned as a walkable, mixed-use small town with as many as 1,500 units, had community support and wouldn't impact traffic because residents would work where they live.

Hunt said the biggest test of the General Plan would come after it's adopted, with its limits on where urban growth will be allowed. Developers can be expected to come forward with "enticing" projects and ask for exceptions to the plan, he said.

"It's going to be a challenge for the community if they're going to hold to the urban growth boundaries," he said. "I acknowledge that's hard to do."

* Ilima Loomis can be reached at iloomis@mauinews.com.