The Maui News
June 23, 2010
By CHRIS HAMILTON, Staff Writer

WAILUKU – The Maui Planning Commission got the first public look Tuesday at detailed designs for the long-debated – and for many – long-awaited Honua’ula 1,400-unit housing development in South Maui.

Tuesday was the first of two opportunities the commission will have to review, and ultimately pass or fail, what is currently the draft environmental impact statement for the $1.2 billion Honua’ula, formerly known as Wailea 670, development.

The county administration also will do a final review of the EIS.

Honua’ula’s developers brought with them to the meeting at least 10 specialized consultants on the 670-acre project, which includes homes, apartments, condominiums, a golf course, retail stores, trails and a forest reserve.

However, plan opponents, such as the Maui Tomorrow Foundation, maintained that the 2,380-page document remains incomplete on issues such as archaeological studies and the development’s effects on the island’s underground aquifer. Overall, opponents said the Honua’ula environmental impact statement failed to address their questions.

The consultants went over the findings, trying to convince commission members that is not the case. The developers contended that they have addressed each concern raised by the public.

"We look forward to a completed document and wish you all the luck," said commission Chairman Jonathan Starr. "And I would like to add one more comment: This is one of the better completed documents we have ever seen."

Members of the public have until June 30 to submit final comments and questions on the draft EIS. The developers must then respond to those queries before the document is finalized.

For commission members, Tuesday’s meeting was mostly a listening session, although some panel members sought to include environmentally friendly concepts in the project, such as recycling storm water, using treated wastewater for irrigation and tapping solar energy to power homes.

The developer’s representatives, led by Charlie Jencks, said they’ve gone to great lengths over the years to include many of those elements in their plans.

The project won approval for its required zoning from the Maui County Council, in part, because council members saw it as a way to stimulate the economy and build much-needed affordable housing.

Half the homes in the development are aimed at people with moderate to low incomes, while the remainder are market value.

In their presentation to the commission, the developers estimated the project would generate $480 million in employee wages and provide 518 jobs after construction is completed at various infrastructure facilities, recreational activities and retail establishments. The project includes 75,000 square feet of commercial property.

The project also will provide tens of millions of dollars in property taxes and fees to help build a regional community park and police substation in Kihei, Jencks said.

As for the EIS, it is necessary because the developers agreed to extend Piilani Highway through the middle of their property. In addition, they agreed to comply with a county ordinance that requires developers to provide their own sources of water.

Those are just a couple of the 30 conditions Maui County Council placed on developers when they approved zoning for the project two years ago.

Commissioner Orlando Tagorda said it’s a good project, and the conditions imposed on it seem like overkill.

"I think this is a very nice place for future generations to live," Tagorda said.

Commissioner Jack Freitas said he thought the developers went beyond what any other developer has been asked to do.

"I just commend them," Freitas said.

Honua’ula plans to drill two wells nearby and use two wells on site owned by Haleakala Ranch, Jencks said. The Honua’ula group plans to convert brackish water in the wells to usable drinking water through the process of reverse osmosis or desalination, Jencks said.

He said the developers will need 1.5 million gallons a day for the project, and they have an agreement with Haleakala Ranch to provide the water "in perpetuity."

But critics wondered what effect this will have on the aquifer and well users downhill from the massive development.

In addition, to gain access to more water, Honua’ula is considering building a wastewater reclamation facility, which treats human wastewater so it is safe enough to use for irrigation.

Critics said the draft EIS is incomplete because it doesn’t say for certain if the developers would build a wastewater treatment plant or use a new one in the area.

Jencks said there was a good reason for that. The developers want to use Makena Resort’s new wastewater treatment plant, but the resort is going through foreclosure. With that process unresolved, the future remains unclear, he said.

Honua’ula is located in what is now one of the last pristine coastlines on Maui with zoning for development. Maui Tomorrow said the developers ignored numerous issues, from the impact on water sources below the project site to the actual number of archaeological finds to preserving as much native flora and fauna as possible.

The developers said they would set aside a 143-acre park for native plants and animals as well as several smaller parks, all of which would be connected by 12 miles of trails. And they’ve been doing their own archaeological studies

and consulting others that date back to the early 1970s, they said.

Commission member Ward Mardfin suggested that the developer’s archaeologist work with Maui Tomorrow to try to find solutions to these ongoing disagreements.

Tagorda said he was concerned that the affordable homes wouldn’t be built first.

Jencks said he is obligated by the County Council’s conditions to construct at least 225 affordable housing units first. And he said he recently posted a $20 million bond to move ahead with plans to build affordable housing.

A few commission members also wondered if Honua’ula would be a gated community.

"The idea of gating off the project is a nonstarter, you would not gain any support from the public if you went that route," Jencks said.

However, the developers will be selling some lots, and those owners have the right under the law to gate in their own small subdivisions, he said.

Jencks said the developers would try to accommodate future renewable energy technology starting with more batteries for a planned upgrade to the Maui Electric Co. transformer in the area. That would help promote photovoltaic systems, he said.

In the meantime, he said that 100 percent of water used by residents and businesses would be heated by solar panels.

Honua’ula’s full draft EIS can be found online on the Department of Health’s Office of Environmental Quality Control website, which can be found at:
hawaii.gov/health/environmental/oeqc/index.html/

Prior to the June 30 deadline, comments on the draft EIS can be sent to the owner’s representative, Charles Jencks, c/o Goodfellow Bros. Inc., P.O. Box 20, Kihei 96753; planning consultant, PBR Hawaii, 1001 Bishop St., Honolulu 96813; and the Maui County Planning Department, 250 South High St., Wailuku 96793.