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New public hearing required for Honua’ula WAILUKU – Council Member Mike Victorino on Friday added his name to the list of council members requesting a public hearing on the Honua’ula project. Previously Council Members Jo Anne Johnson and Michelle Anderson said they want a night hearing so that residents who work during the day could participate in the review of the project. Under a County Charter provision, a public hearing must be held when three council members request it. Council Chairman Riki Hokama will decide on the time and place of the hearing. Victorino said that “it was the public” who influenced his request, not the appeals of the two council members who are demanding a careful review of the effects of the proposed 670-acre residential project. The Land Use Committee review of Honua’ula has stretched out over a week and a half, opening on July 25 and continuing July 27, with 10 hours of public testimony before the committee recessed and again convened on Wednesday and Friday for its deliberations. But the hotly debated zoning request has been stalled in the council for years, with opponents protesting the additional traffic it will cause and questioning whether there will be sufficient water for the 1,400 houses planned. Land Use Chairman Mike Molina objected to the demands for another hearing, saying it is time for the council to deliberate and make a decision. By recessing the committee meeting, rather than adjourning and scheduling new meetings, Molina avoided having a new round of public testimony on the project. But when Victorino distributed his memo requesting a hearing Friday afternoon, it made another round of public testimony unavoidable. Molina had recessed the meeting again on Friday, to reconvene at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Council Chambers on the eighth floor of the Kalana O Maui building. In the relatively short 2 1/2-hour meeting, the committee reached general consensus on three of more than 30 conditions proposed for Honua’ula. Although the conditions were relatively noncontroversial, Molina was gratified there had been some movement. “I just wanted the members to go home feeling they had something done,” he said. “I’m pleased we made progress.” Molina said he would deal with issues on which there is likely to be agreement before taking on provisions on which there may be debate among committee members. “(I) hope the public understands that an application like this takes time and we hope to reach a decision soon,” he said. Honua’ula, or Wailea 670 project district, proposes 1,400 residential units, 80,000 square feet of commercial space and a private golf course. The site is 670 acres mauka of the Wailea Resort. Honua’ula representative Charlie Jencks said after Friday’s meeting that he was pleased with the committee’s efforts. “I support getting that stuff out of the way,” he said of the noncontroversial conditions. He said he could consider a suggestion from Council Member Gladys Coelho Baisa for the Honua’ula developers to work with the county water department on development of additional water sources. Much of the discussion on Friday was focused on water development for Honua’ula. At the request of the committee, Jencks submitted a copy of an agreement with Haleakala Ranch for the Honua’ula group to develop a well on ranch land. The agreement will allow Honua’ula an easement for the system to be developed within the “Lower Ranch Water Development Area.” The ranch would be allowed to tap the Honua’ula system, but Honua’ula is assured 1.5 million gallons a day of potable water under the agreement. Jencks said the developers expect to develop a brackish water well and will use a reverse osmosis system to provide drinking water for the development. Hokama questioned whether if it would be better to develop a well at a higher elevation to provide water with less salinity. Water Director Jeff Eng said the Lower Ranch Water Development Area is over the Kamaole aquifer where the fresh water lens is thin. Drilling further inland at a higher elevation could tap a deeper fresh water lens, he said, but costs would be higher. Responding to another question from Hokama, Eng said there was no problem with developing a brackish well, but he said there should be a back-up source for drinking water and the developers will need to show they can properly dispose of the salty wastewater left from the reverse osmosis process. Baisa said the issue of water source is “very serious,” especially since the county is in a “precarious water situation.” She proposed what she thought could be a “totally crazy idea” of having the Honua’ula developer help develop new sources of water for use outside its project district. “It is a possibility,” Eng said. Three proposed conditions on the zoning request were recommended for approval on Friday. They would require the developer to: Deal with animal pests to protect native plants in the site, with construction of perimeter fencing and a plan for rodent and feral cat control. Provide dust control. Establish appropriate lighting standards. Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com. |
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Panel to take up Honua’ula Wednesday
Saturday, July 28, 2007 10:36 AM
reprinted
courtesy Maui News 7/28/07
WAILUKU – Questioning whether there is sufficient water for the proposed 1,400-unit South Maui subdivision, opponents of Honua’ula voiced strong objections to a council Land Use Committee session that drew a crowd of nearly 100 residents Friday.
Critics also cited continuing concerns about natural habitats found in the undeveloped project district, impacts on traffic and the effects of more growth in an already congested community.
Honua’ula representative Charlie Jencks had an answer in place on the water issue saying the developer will develop wells that have an ample supply and will not need to rely on dwindling county resources.
Jencks said the water system for Honua’ula will use a reverse osmosis process to assure the quality of the drinking water for the development. Speaking for the California-based developer, Jencks said providing water to the arid South Maui region will not be a problem.
“We did an in-depth study, and it is our intention to use reverse osmosis to get the water to a potable standard,” he said.
Situated on 670 acres that opponents say is home to a wide variety of native plants and historical sites, the project has been at the center of a heated debate since it was first proposed in the 1980s.
If approved when the Land Use Committee reconvenes at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Council Chambers, Honua’ula, formerly known as Wailea 670, will include 1,400 single-family and multifamily units, 80,000 feet of commercial space and a private golf course.
Friday’s 5?-hour hearing was a continuation of a marathon session that opened on Wednesday afternoon when 55 testifiers were heard by the committee. Continuing with testimony, the committee heard from more than 70 additional speakers by the time Land Use Chairman Mike Molina called for a recess.
The testimony fell on both sides of the issue.
Proponents for the project lauded the developer’s dedication to providing affordable housing for local residents with prices ranging between $225,000 and $275,000, in line with standards set by a new county Workforce Residential Housing Policy requiring up to 50 percent of new housing projects to be priced at affordable rates.
There was support from a Maui contractor who is completing the 400-unit Waikapu Gardens project that is 51 percent affordably priced and said there is a severe need for more.
“I’ve never had more joy building any other project than on this present project,” said Jesse Spencer, founder of Spencer Homes.
“It’s truly an emergency situation that we have and I don’t see how else we can solve the problem.”
Representatives from construction unions said Honua’ula would provide hundreds of much-needed jobs for Maui trades workers.
“The majority of my workers are locals from Maui and they have to feed their families,” said George Aikala, a representative from the the Laborers Union, Local 368. “I do care what’s happening with our land, but we need construction for our workers and our trades.”
Opponents argued that the subdivision is being built on native dryland forests that protect important Hawaiian archaeological sites and are a habitat to native species.
“I’m hoping this council will step forward on behalf of few the native Hawaiian archaeological sites that we still have,” said Robert Nelson, a Kihei resident. “There are probably a whole lot more cultural sites that haven’t been discovered there yet.”
In addition to saying there are heiau and ancient burials in the area, opponents said the project will just take away from the untouched beauty of the Makena area.
“Before we think about development, we have to think about the facts,” said Terri Ewbank of Kihei. “It’s our responsibility to keep Makena the way it is.”
Travis Kaya can be reached at tkaya@mauinews.com.
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No lack of pros, cons at Honua’ula hearing
Thursday, July
26, 2007 11:24 AM
reprinted
courtesy Maui News 7/26/07
WAILUKU – Demands to preserve the island’s ecosystem and stop further development on Maui contrasted with pleas for affordable housing as County Council members listened to testimony on a controversial proposed 1,400-unit housing community in Wailea.
The council’s Land Use Committee recessed its meeting on Honua’ula, previously named Wailea 670, until 1:30 p.m. Friday after listening to almost 4 1/2 hours of testimony in the Council Chambers.
Approximately 55 of the 122 people signed up to testify on the Honua’ula rezoning application were able to present comments on Wednesday afternoon. The rest of those who signed up and any other interested individuals will have to wait until Friday.
Honua’ula proposes 1,400 single-family homes and multifamily units, 80,000 square feet of commercial space and one private golf course on 670 acres mauka of the Wailea Resort.
The developers are seeking modifications to the project district approvals granted in the late 1980s when the original Wailea 670 proposed two golf courses and 2,600 housing units within a series of gated communities.
Passionate pleas for and against the project echoing statements made at past public hearings were aired on Wednesday.
Native Hawaiian cultural specialist Ed Lindsey reiterated his worries about bulldozing more than 100 acres containing native Hawaiian plants and trees.
“It really breaks my heart,” he said. “We need to be careful that this doesn’t turn into a stepping stone of urbanization.”
Lindsey was among the majority speaking out against Honua’ula. Arguments against the project included protests of the impact on the island’s limited water resources, increased traffic congestion and diminishing of cultural and land resources.
Rob Parsons, a former county executive assistant on environmental concerns, spoke for the Sierra Club and called for a new environmental impact statement. He said the last one was in 1988 when the initial Wailea 670 project was brought forth.
Parsons said additional studies on the preservation of flora in the natural habitat on the 670 acres need to be reviewed.
In contrast, those speaking up in favor of Honua’ula pleaded for approval because it would provide 700 affordable housing units. Honua’ula, supporters pointed out, would be the first major project to comply with a county Residential Workforce Housing Policy mandating new housing developments to include a minimum of 40 percent and up to 50 percent at affordable prices.
“For me that is a very important part of this project. I think this is important all by itself,” Gene Zarro said.
Bill Kamai of the Hawaii Carpenters Union said Honua’ula would mean more jobs not only for carpenters, but plumbers, laborers, vendors and all those connected to the construction industry.
Kamai said the 700 affordable units would cover about 25 percent of the 3,000 affordable housing units needed on Maui. In addition, Kamai pointed out that Honua’ula will pay more than $40 million in impact fees for highway improvements, parks and a homeless resource center in South Maui.
Stan Franco of Housing for the Local Person, a grass-roots group advocating for more affordable housing on Maui, testified wearing a white T-shirt with the words “Housing Now.”
Franco’s organization suggested a number of conditions to the approval, including insisting that Honua’ula build all its the affordable housing within the project district and that the proposed golf course be open to public play.
Opponents wore T-shirts saying: “Wailea 670 Just Say No.” The back of the T-shirt states: “No to more traffic, more golf courses, more wasted water, more urban sprawl.”
Realtor Bonnie Newman, a Maui Meadows resident, said she doubted that the developers would be able to construct 700 affordable housing units.
“I don’t believe it for a moment,” Newman said.
A few others testifying were skeptical about whether they could even afford the affordables, with prices starting around $225,000.
Council Land Use Chairman Mike Molina said he would think about a request to hold a nighttime meeting for individuals unable to attend the daytime hearings.
Claudine San
Nicolas can be reached at claudine@mauinews.com.
reprinted courtesy Maui News 7/26/07
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