Proponents of the Kapalua Coastal Trail cleared a major hurdle this week after the Maui Planning Commission granted it a special management area use permit.

Maui Land & Pineapple Co. wants to construct the 3.5-mile trail between Kapalua and Honolua bays that will feature panoramic vistas of Moloka'i and Lana'i. Completion of the public trail is scheduled for 2009.

The project still needs county building permits and permission from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources' Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands, said Thorne Abbott, county coastal resources and shoreline planner.