Greg Garneau, Esq.
professional biography
Greg Garneau has significant experience with a wide range of land use and administrative law matters and has practiced law in Maui County for 20 years. Most notably his background includes several years with the Maui County Corporation Counsel's office, where he served as First Deputy Corporation Counsel and provided legal advice to the Planning and Public Works Departments and the Maui County Council, and represented Maui County in various complex litigation matters before the State of Hawaii courts, the United States District Court - District of Hawaii, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
In his practice now Greg represents sophisticated landowners and developers before various boards and commissions in Hawaii including the Maui Planning Commission, the Maui County Board of Variances and Appeals and the State of Hawaii Land Use Commission. He frequently represents clients in navigating County and State permitting, zoning, land use, development and entitlement processes. Greg also regularly advises clients on water, affordable housing, archeological review, parks dedications and educational contribution requirements relating to land use, as well as the environmental review process and development within special management and coastal areas. Greg has assisted as legal counsel in the processing of numerous subdivisions and land use applications working closely with planners, engineers, surveyors and other land use consultants. And when necessary Greg can represent clients in adversarial proceedings, such as his recent successful litigation of a challenge to Maui County's restrictive water availability policy.
Greg has earned a "BV® Distinguished™" Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Real Property and Financial Services Section of the Hawaii State Bar Association. In 2010, Greg authored the Hawaii Real Estate Law Manual, Volume 2, Chapter 3, County Regulation of Land, in which he surveyed in detail land use procedures and law for each of Hawaii's four counties.
In 1990, Greg earned his J.D. degree from George Washington University, a B.S.B.A., cum laude, from Boston University in 1984, and a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2000. He is an active member of the Hawaii State Bar Association and the Washington State Bar Association.