by Brian Perry, City Editor
reprinted courtesy Maui News 1/2/11
LAHAINA - The Hawaii Housing Finance & Development Corp. hopes to revive
the full Villages of Leiali'i housing project in Lahaina, which has been
stalled for two decades while housing prices in West Maui have climbed to
levels far higher than in the rest of the island.
Because the 1,033 acres are ceded lands, they cannot be sold, so in a new approach, the lots would be leased on long terms.
That would clear one hurdle, said HHFDC Director Karen Seddon, but another still looms: County planners have resisted rezoning for the full project, although in discussions they have indicated they would favor a smaller project.
Because infrastructure costs will be high, and market-price housing will have to pay for that plus subsidize affordable units, the project needs to be viewed as a complete package, one that would take many years to build out, she said last week.
A draft environmental impact statement was published last month. It unveiled the leasing concept and said HHFDC would seek private developers to build the homes.
The project would be the next phase of the Villages of Leiali'i, a massive planned housing development launched in the late 1980s, using the first fast-track arrangement to deliver affordable housing, called Act 15. It became stalled, however, because of legal challenges by the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs about using ceded lands for a general housing development.
Last week, OHA spokesman Lloyd Yonenaka said it would be premature for the agency to comment about leasing ceded lands property for the villages project.
"We are currently reviewing the EIS and the issues surrounding this development," he said.
The environmental study prepared by consultant Belt Collins Hawaii Ltd. says the project's aim is to provide housing for work-force and lower- and moderate-income residents in West Maui.
"Provision of new housing near jobs in Lahaina and the Kaanapali resort will tend to reduce commuting traffic, and hence congestion, in Lahaina and on the route to Central Maui," a summary of the project says. "The Villages of Leiali'i will create a community based on sustainable building and design principles to serve West Maui residents."
The project calls for building single- and multifamily homes with a range of densities, neighborhood parks and a mixed-use (commercial and residential) town center with open space. Plans call for including two sites for elementary schools as well as for retail stores, light industrial areas, solar energy development, parks and open space.
The development would be done in two phases, one with 451 acres makai of the planned route of the Lahaina bypass and another with 582 acres mauka of the road. The makai phase would be done first.
The project would be located mauka of the Lahaina Civic Center, the Department of Hawaii Home Lands' Villages of Leiali'i subdivision and the Wahikuli subdivision. It would be on the Kaanapali side of the Kelawea subdivision and Kahana Stream and on the Lahaina side of the planned expansion of the Kaanapali resort.
The land is vacant. It was used for sugar cultivation by Pioneer Mill. The Honokohau Ditch extends across the site, and some irrigation and flood control infrastructure was left in place by the mill.
According to the environmental study, planning of the Villages of Leiali'i began in October 1988 as a master-planned community. At the time, the project was led by the HHFDC's predecessor agencies, the state Housing and Finance Development Corp. and the Housing and Community Development Corp. of Hawaii.
Villages of Leiali'i was open-ended, but was projected to produce as many as 4,800 dwellings. At the same time, Pioneer Mill was projecting its Puukolii Village project of up to 1,600 dwellings.
The Lahaina (now West Maui) community plan was being updated at the same time, and the county considered that 6,000-plus new housing units were more than West Maui would need in the 20-year horizon of the plan.
Because Act 15 precluded the county from restricting either affordable development, the County Council agreed with the Maui Planning Department and moved very little other land into urban for residential purposes.
The ceded lands issue and Pioneer Mill's financial problems forestalled both Act 15 projects, but because there was little other land available for development, the amount of new housing built in West Maui since 1990 hasn't kept up with demand, or even made inroads into the unmet demand that inspired the Legislature to pass Act 15.
In 1990, the HFDC completed a master plan and an environmental impact statement for the development of 3,800 to 4,300 homes (somewhat reduced from earlier projections) at Leiali'i. The project had a mix of single- and multifamily homes, which were to be made available at both affordable and market prices. The plans called for on- and off-site infrastructure, a public golf course, parks and limited commercial development. In May 1990, the state Land Use Commission approved a land reclassification from agricultural to urban for the development.
The state agency then invested $30 million in expansion of the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility; constructed roads, sewer, water and drainage systems for the project's first phase; developed water exploratory wells; and installed a sewer line and wastewater reclamation line from the Lahaina sewage treatment plant to about halfway to the Leiali'i project.
In November 1993, C. Brewer Properties was selected for the development of the project's Village 1, which had 320 affordable and 210 market-priced homes. Pre-sale of the first 103 homes (20 affordable) was completed in the summer of 1994.
According to the agency's environmental study, the project was suspended before any homes were built because OHA sued to stop the project in November 1994, challenging the project's construction on lands ceded by the Hawaiian monarchy to the United States and the Territory (later state) of Hawaii.
The legal challenge aimed at stopping the conveyance of ceded lands to private parties while Native Hawaiian claims remained unresolved. The litigation led to the sale of 21.5 acres with more than 100 home lots and nearly 51 acres of unimproved land to the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which was not barred from developing homes for Native Hawaiians.
In January 2008, the Hawaii Supreme Court barred the state from selling or transferring ceded lands to a third party. The court based its ruling on Congress' joint Apology Resolution of 1993, which apologized for the United States' role in the overthrow of the kingdom.
The state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in March 2009 reversed the Hawaii high court, ruling it incorrectly based its decision on the Apology Resolution.
Then, in July 2009, then-Gov. Linda Lingle signed into law Act 176, which requires a community meeting, appraisal and a two-thirds vote of each house of the state Legislature to convey state land in fee simple to third parties.
The final legal challenge to the state's conveyance of ceded lands was dismissed in October 2009.
According to the draft environmental study, the state housing agency intends to comply with legal rulings and Act 176 with the Villages of Leiali'i by leasing the property to homeowners.
Rick Praylor, HHFDC project development chief, said leases are intended to be available to anyone, not just Hawaiians. The exact terms have not been settled, as the project is still in early stages. The affordable homes - 50 percent plus one of the total units, at least - would be available to buyers who qualify under the usual guidelines.
A request for proposal will eventually be published, and developers will be asked to suggest detailed approaches to delivering the housing and community segments of the project.
The environmental review includes an archaeological study, a cultural impact analysis, a survey of plants and animals on the project site, engineering studies and traffic and socioeconomic assessments.
The draft environmental document was submitted to the state Office of Environmental Quality Control on Dec. 9. It was published in the Dec. 23 issue of The Environmental Notice. It can be found online at oeqc.doh.hawaii.gov/Shared%20Documents/Environmental_Notice/current_issue.pdf.
Public comments are due in writing by Feb. 6.
Comments may be sent to the HHFDC at 677 Queen St., Suite 300, Honolulu 96813. They should be sent to the attention of project manager Stanley Fujimoto, whose phone number is (808) 587-0541 and fax number is (808) 587-0600.
A copy of comments also should be sent to the project consultant, Belt Collins Hawaii, 2153 N. King St., Honolulu 96819, with attention to Susan Sakai, who can be reached at (808) 521-5361 or by fax at (808) 538-7819.
* Brian Perry can be reached at citydesk@mauinews.com. Staff Writer Harry Eagar contributed to this story.
reprinted courtesy Maui News 1/2/11, original link www mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/544613.html
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