Molina says committee will vote on Honua'ula

The Maui News
Friday, November 09, 2007
By CLAUDINE SAN NICOLAS, Staff Writer

WAILUKU - Maui County Council Land Use Chairman Mike Molina said Thursday that his committee should be prepared to vote next week on whether to approve or disapprove the zoning request for the Honua'ula project district.

He announced his intention to close months of deliberation on the proposed project when the Land Use Committee reconvenes beginning Tuesday evening.

"In my opinion, I think we've reached the saturation point," Molina said, referring to piles of documents and countless hours of debate and questions over the proposed 1,400-unit project district in South Maui.

After more than 20 committee sessions this year including three this week, Molina said he did not intend to allow debate beyond next week and will call for a vote on whether to approve the Honua'ula application.

Committee members including Gladys Coelho Baisa agreed with Molina. She indicated a willingness to adjust her schedule if it meant that the panel would be voting on whether to recommend approval of Honua'ula's applications for zoning and a project district amendment.

"We need to get this done. I'm with you," Baisa said.

During discussions Thursday, the committee closed in on two conditions dealing with school impact fees and allowing public play on the private golf course. A cultural resources plan remained in contention, but the committee heard conflicting statements on whether a cultural survey conducted by a consulting cultural archaeologist is acceptable.

Honua'ula, designated as the Wailea 670 project district in the Kihei-Makena Community Plan, would be an assortment of housing units, of which half are to be priced in affordable ranges, while market-priced units are expected to run $1 million or more.

Most of the housing would be constructed over 20 years on the 670-acre project site south of Maui Meadows. The plans include the private golf course and a commercial area.

Molina recessed the committee meeting until 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Council Chambers. He said he was ready to oversee the meeting as long as committee members would be willing to go on Tuesday night.

If needed, Molina indicated, he would follow up with more meetings on Wednesday and Thursday night, but he cautioned that he would not continue the meetings without insisting that the committee vote on the request.

Molina said the only remaining "major" issue is a cultural plan for the project.

Next week is a normal council meeting week, except for Veterans Day on Monday, which is a state holiday. There are other committees scheduled to meet through the week, with a regular bimonthly council meeting on Friday.

In its deliberations Thursday, the committee approved language on school impact fees. Initially written at the suggestion of Honua'ula's representatives, the condition requires a fee of $3,000 per unit prior to issuance of the project's building permits, with a stipulation that the money be used for schools serving the Kihei-Makena Community Plan area.

The approved condition provides that, should the state pass legislation imposing school impact fees, Honua'ula shall from that point forward comply with the state requirements or contribute $3,000 per housing unit, whichever is greater.

During questioning by committee members, Honua'ula representative Charlie Jencks said the state Land Use Commission proposed $895 per unit when it granted a urban classification for the land more than a decade ago. The developer volunteered to increase its contribution to $3,000 per unit.

The vote on the educational contribution was 6-0, with Council Chairman Riki Hokama and Council Members Michelle Anderson and Danny Mateo excused.

Committee members also voted 6-0 to amend the condition involving play by Maui residents on Honua'ula's private golf course. At the suggestion of Council Member Joe Pontanilla, the charge for Maui residents for greens fees, including golf cart rental fees, shall not exceed 40 percent of the average market rate. Pontanilla said a 40 percent rate for residents would be comparable to discounted rates offered by other private golf courses on Maui.

Honua'ula has agreed to open its private golf course on Tuesdays for play by Maui residents.

Committee members voting Thursday were Molina, Baisa, Jo Anne Johnson, Bill Medeiros, Pontanilla and Mike Victorino.

On another issue, committee members expressed an unwillingness to support a recommendation by Johnson for detailed reports on the sales of affordable housing units in the Honua'ula project.

The developer has agreed to comply with the county Work Force Residential Housing Policy, which according to committee members already covers specifics on what a project developer must report to the county's Department of Housing and Human Concerns.

Johnson acknowledged that some of her recommendations regarding housing reports mirrored the county's new housing policy, but she wanted them detailed in the conditions to help future County Councils assess attempts to provide affordable housing for residents.

In a separate matter, Molina distributed a letter received by committee staff members Thursday morning outlining the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' continued objections to an archaeological survey done by Honua'ula's consulting archaeologists.

OHA Administrator Cliff Namau'o maintained that his agency believed the cultural review process is "severely flawed" and recommended that the State Historic Preservation Division do more to ensure a complete archaeological inventory survey.

But Baisa said she believed OHA's letter was directed at the state historic preservation office and not the council Land Use Committee.

Medeiros said it was clear that "OHA is not happy" with the Historic Preservation Division and its inability to complete a review of the cultural plan. The OHA statements corroborate statements that Honua'ula's consultants have done what they can to provide information on the cultural sites and obtain approval for a cultural plan.

Namau'o complained that his agency had not been properly consulted by the State Historic Preservation Division, learning of the Honua'ula cultural plan through information received in October from the developer.

Deputy Planning Director Colleen Suyama pointed out to committee members that Namau'o's position on Honua'ula differs from a response in 2000, when OHA was initially consulted and OHA declined to comment on the project. Given OHA's "no comment" at the time, Suyama said, consulting agencies more than likely saw no need to provide any subsequent information about cultural reviews to OHA.

Suyama, who has been involved with the Honua'ula project review for years, said she noticed that OHA's position about cultural reviews has changed in recent years. Meanwhile, the State Historic Preservation Division has fallen behind in its cultural reviews, resulting in a backlog of approximately 333 projects on Maui, according to Suyama.

Namau'o's letter to the State Historic Preservation Division said OHA recommends that 29 cultural sites identified on Honua'ula property be given adequate buffer zones for protection. OHA also supports Native Hawaiian access rights to the cultural sites.

Molina said committee members could discuss the OHA letter further when they reconvene Tuesday.