WAILUKU, Maui — The Hawaii Supreme Court affirmed Tuesday that County Council member Sol Kahoohalahala is a resident of Lahaina — not Lanai, the island for which he holds the council's residency seat.

In a 5-0 decision, the court said that just intending to move back to Lanai was not enough to make him a resident again as Kahoohalahala and Maui County Clerk Roy Hiraga had argued in their appeal of the case.

Instead, the court said Kahoohalahala also had to show he had taken steps to abandon the home he had established in Lahaina and physically move back to Lanai — something he had not done.

It was not immediately clear how the decision will affect Kahoohalahala's standing on the council. The decision upheld an earlier ruling that dealt specifically with whether Kahoohalahala could vote on Länai, not on whether he could run for office or serve on the council. A separate appeal by some Länai residents seeking to block Kahoohalahala from serving on the council is now pending before the state high court.

Corporation Counsel Brian Moto said county attorneys were meeting with the county clerk's office to review the court's decision and discuss its meaning and the county's options.

Kahoohalahala's attorney, Ben Lowenthal, declined to comment on what the decision means for Kahoohalahala's future on the council.

"The court's decision touches upon our right to vote," he said in a prepared statement. "It has widespread consequences for Hawaii residents who have returned home and wish to re-enter the community by registering to vote. It seems that challenging anybody's — not just a politician's — right to vote is really quite simple."

Lanai resident Michael "Phoenix" Dupree, who filed the challenge to Kahoohalahala's residency, said he was pleased that the court ruled in his favor, but that he was skeptical that it would make a difference in who holds the Länai residency seat on the County Council.

"To me as a layperson, it seems obvious — he's not a resident of this district," he said. "The way I read it, he should resign immediately, but I don't think that's going to happen, and I don't know who can compel that to happen."

Kahoohalahala was born on Länai and lived there for much of his life. He previously represented the island on the Maui County Council and in the state Legislature. But in recent years, he has lived with his wife in Lahaina while working on Maui. In 2006, he registered to vote in Lahaina.

In July 2008, he changed his voter registration back to Länai, just a few days before filing as a candidate for the Lanai seat on the council. Challenges to his residency were not filed until Kahoohalahala had finished first in a preliminary election contest. He easily won the seat later in a final election run against Lanai resident John Ornellas, just a few days after the state Board of Registration ruled that he was actually a resident of Lahaina for voting purposes.