Makena Resort conditions of zoning: Maui County Council members were still discussing modifications to a 43-item list of conditions being imposed on the development as a special meeting continued late Wednesday night.

Makena Resort conditions of zoning (fact box for the article that follows):

reprinted courtesy Maui News 12/11/08
By CHRIS HAMILTON, Staff Writer

The bill to allow zoning for the Makena Resort includes 43 conditions in a unilateral agreement with Keaka LLC, Makena Golf LLC, Makena Hotel LLC, Makena MF-2&3 LLC and Makena Resort Services LLC. Among key conditions:

* No more than 800 residential units will be built, excluding residential work force housing units (amended by council from 1,000 units).

* No vacation rentals or time shares allowed; only one hotel allowed.

* Density in residential districts limited to a maximum of 2.5 units per acre.

* Building heights in apartment and hotel districts not to exceed 45 feet over lower of natural or finished grade.

* To preserve views, front yard walls may not be higher than 4 feet.

* Shield exterior lighting from nearshore waters.

* Contribute to development, funding and construction of school facilities.

* Participate in funding transportation improvements as determined by the state Department of Transportation and Maui County, including widening Piilani Highway from Kilohana Drive to Wailea Ike Drive to four lanes.

* Prepare transportation management plans to reduce construction traffic through Wailea and to reduce use of individual vehicles within the Makena Resort.

* Contribute $1,000 per unit to the county for a South Maui police station.

* Provide 60 parking stalls for Maluaka Beach access; expand beach park; renovate and maintain public facilities at Makena Landing; fund improvements at Makena State Park.

* Provide baseline data on native flora and fauna with each development site.

* Assess and monitor coastal water resources including groundwater flows, nutrient loads and other land-based discharges.

* Comply with county Residential Workforce Housing Policy in place at the time of zoning approval (amended by council).

* Provide notice to Planning Department and County Council of any change in ownership interest prior to development of Makena Resort.

* Provide annual compliance reports on development to planning director and County Council.

* A failure to comply with any conditions "may result in a reversion to former or more appropriate zoning or community plan designations or other remedies."

NEW DEMANDS FOR MAKENA RESORT

Development cut to 800 housing units, and traffic fees tacked on
reprinted courtesy Maui News 12/11/08
By CHRIS HAMILTON, Staff Writer

WAILUKU - It was a day of finishing touches and not bated-breath surprises Wednesday for the Makena Resort project district.

An affirmative vote seemed likely, but County Council members were still discussing modifications to a 43-item list of conditions being imposed on the development as a special meeting continued late Wednesday night.

In the deliberations that began at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Council Member Michelle Anderson won a cutback when Makena Resort general partner Everett Dowling agreed to reduce the project density from 1,000 to 800 luxury units. That also meant the county would require 400 affordable homes instead of 500 to comply with the county's work force housing ordinance.

Dowling said he did not expect the reduction to affect the economic viability of the overall development plan.

The council on Tuesday opened its re-examination of the bill recommended by the Land Use Committee last month that establishes zoning on 603 acres requested for a revision of the Makena Resort master plan. After the session ran past 10 p.m., the council special meeting was recessed to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, with Chairman Riki Hokama vowing to complete action before the council would adjourn again.

The bill will require two readings by the council.

Supported with financing from Morgan Stanley, Dowling said the project is ready to move ahead with building permits applications within six months of final approval of the zoning.

Opponents have railed against Makena Resort for years, charging that development of the former pastures on centuries-old lava fields will destroy a pristine environment as well as culturally significant areas. Any financial benefits will only be fleeting, they said.

Dowling supporters said the resort will provide real economic stimulus and defended the developer as someone who has shown himself to be a sustainable builder who uses green technology and cares deeply about the environment and people in the community.

Anderson set the tone early Wednesday when she said she would be spending much of the day demanding more special conditions before the development plans would move forward. At one point, she asked if anyone else would be adding to the existing 43 conditions being imposed in a unilateral agreement with the developer.

Only Council Member Jo Anne Johnson later answered with an amendment to a condition to require Makena Resort to pay its share for widening the Piilani Highway, along with other developers in the area, once 250 units are built. Councilors have called for turnouts and stoplights to be added to a four-lane highway to Wailea Ike Drive.

Johnson, who holds the West Maui residency seat, added a $5,000 per unit traffic impact fee for road improvements. She has been pushing to implement the idea for some time across the county to deal with Lahaina congestion.

Anderson, the lame-duck council member who holds the South Maui residency seat, was at the center of the demands through the evening at a desk mounded with documents, studies and maps for the 1,800-acre project. She called herself a research junkie.

"I'm not trying to be an extremist or anything," Anderson said in demanding a paved Makena Resort road be set aside for tsunami evacuation. "But people shouldn't have to be told their only way to escape is to put on their tennis shoes and run for the hills."

Dowling said he had no problem with the request and that such a road already existed on the property that contains the Maui Prince Hotel.

Anderson threw up her hands in what's become a familiar response to one of Dowling's "no problem"-type answers. Anderson again asked why the County Council had never been apprised of all these nuances.

Although Anderson has frequently questioned Dowling at length, she's also huddled with him. Anderson said if anyone is going to do Makena Resort, she's glad it is Dowling.

Anderson, a sharp critic of growth on Maui, has been declaring that if Makena Resort is going through, she would demand the least impact on the environment as possible and as much for the community as she could. That didn't stop her, though, from throwing her glasses on her desk and accusing her colleagues of pushing the development through without real oversight.

Continuing her persistent demands, Anderson had Dowling agree to provide $3,000 per unit for school impact fees - up from $1,400. That's in addition to the $1,000 per unit toward a South Maui police station imposed as a condition.

She also added on to a provision that shields lights from the shoreline to prevent exterior lights from seeping into the night sky at all.

One of the day's hiccups came from a letter by one of Dowling's lenders. The bank questioned the county affordable housing law and said it could "damage our collateral," and put the bank at a disadvantage in the marketplace.

Council Member Danny Mateo, who championed the work force housing ordinance, said the affordable housing component was the main reason for his support and the endorsement of Makena Resort by many in the community.

Regardless, Dowling said he is committed toward building the affordable housing and takes pride in doing it. Those homes will be built off-site somewhere in the Kihei-Makena Community Plan district, he said.

Dowling has said development of the resort will take up to 15 years to complete and his plans include replacing the outdated Maui Prince Hotel. However, he said he will retain staff in the interim in Makena Resort's new golf clubhouses.

He said the resort will add 20 percent more employees to its current staff of 400.

Dowling is marketing residential units in a first phase, Makena Maluaka, for between $4 million and $14 million.

"Well, at least I won't be here to answer the phone calls," said Anderson, who is moving to the Mainland to care for a sick relative.

* Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com.

reprinted courtesy Maui News 12/11/08

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