The state Land Use Commission probably won’t have a final decision on whether to grant the last land use entitlement for the 320-acre, 116-lot Kula Ridge development until sometime this fall, attorneys said Thursday.
Developer, Clayton Nishikawa’s wants to reclassify 34.5 acres from agricultural to urban district designation above Kula Highway. Nishikawa also is seeking reclassification of 16.5 acres from agricultural to rural district on the Kula property.
According to the article Maui County – with the notable exception of the Water Department – supports the reclassification and testimony was evenly split between construction workers favoring the change and others including the Kula Community Association which has “serious concerns”.
The association was concerned about the project’s impact on water availability, the need for more sidewalks and traffic congestion, said member Dick Mayer.
Mayer also noted that while the project boasts 70 senior and affordable housing single-family homes and duplexes, those are on only nine acres of the site. The other 46 units would be market-priced homes; and there are no guarantees that the affordable homes would stay that way in perpetuity, Mayer said.
“My general concern is that Kula Ridge is trying to jump ahead of the many (more than 1,400) people on the Upcountry water meter list,” Mayer said.
The county Department of Water Supply must decide if it will allow the developer to use the private Piiholo well in Makawao, which has been offered to the county for a negotiated purchase for some time. Or, Nishikawa could move forward with the more expensive backup plan of drilling for drinking water on the site and installing pumps and storage tanks. The developer claims there’s “plenty of water”.
The commission is expected to return to Maui in August for more hearings on the Kula Ridge project. The panel’s decision on the matter could come as early as this fall.
