Court denies Wailea 670 motion to dissolve injunction

MauiChronicle.com
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
by David Mogilefsky

The Second Circuit Court in Wailuku today denied a motion by Wailea/Honua'ula 670 to "dissolve or reconsider" a preliminary injunction previously ordered by the court in the case of Kanahele et al. v. Maui County. This is the case in which five South Maui residents are suing to void the granting of conditional residential zoning to a 1,400 unit project south of Maui Meadows and mauka of the Wailea resort.

The suit alleges that the Land Use Committee of the County Council violated the Hawaii "Sunshine" law by failing to give the public opportunities to address the committee while it repeatedly recessed and reconvened public hearings on the project over several months.

After the court granted an injunction against the county, preventing it from taking further action on the project while the suit is pending, the developer hired Honolulu attorney Bill McCorriston to "intervene" in the suit and to try to get the injunction dropped.

In denying the motion to drop the injunction, the court, Hon. Joseph Cardoza presiding, noted that the court is still scheduled to consider a summary judgment motion brought by the plaintiffs on October 17. This will be a full evidentiary hearing in which witnesses may be called, and which is expected to produce a final judgment in the case. The plaintiffs' attorney, Lance Collins, has indicated that he intends to call the Mayor and all nine members of the County Council as witnesses.

In an ancillary matter, Judge Cardoza clarified the injunction by ruling that it does not prevent Wailea/Honua'ula 670 from submitting development documents to the Planning Department, nor does it prevent the department from reviewing the documents, so long as doing do is not deemed to be compliance with the "conditions of zoning" imposed by the ordinance.