Posted on: Friday, August 3, 2001

Maui oceanfront development halted

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau

PA'IA, Maui — Maui County yesterday stopped construction of a controversial oceanfront residential project near Baldwin Beach Park on Maui's north shore.

Planning Director John Min said he asked for a stop-work order after a county attorney issued a tentative legal opinion questioning the department's policy that allowed the three-home "condominium'' development to go forward without coastal zone management permits.

The project, on 5.7 acres just east of Baldwin Beach on the former site of a lime kiln used years ago for sand and coral mining, has been opposed by environmentalists trying to preserve oceanfront land and by beachgoers who want to maintain access along the shore.

The situation has drawn the attention of both Mayor James "Kimo'' Apana and the County Council, and may lead to changes in how the county carries out regulatory oversight of shoreline development.

According to the legal opinion from Deputy Corporation Counsel Richard Minatoya, to be exempt from special management area requirements under condominium rules, the construction of a home on a single lot must not be part of a larger development. In this case, ownership of the development was divided in three.

In December, Min issued exemptions to the requirements under what he called a long-standing department policy that gives the director discretion in such matters.

Min said he expects a more thorough opinion from Minatoya by Tuesday.

"We feel that the prudent thing to do is to hold off on building activity in this project until the opinion has been rendered,'' Min said.

Thomas Welch, attorney for developer Montana Beach LLC, said the stop-work order is contrary to law.

"We will be pursuing legal remedies,'' he said.

While one two-story home on the lime kiln lot is nearly complete, construction on the other two houses has only begun.

Kula resident Christina Hemming and the group Hui Alanui O Makena have filed an appeal with the Maui Planning Commission challenging Min's action to issue the exemptions. The opponents say the coastal zone law does not allow for multiple exemptions on a single lot.

A County Council committee also is scheduled to examine the circumstances surrounding the development of the lot.

Apana, who promised opponents he would work to maintain beach access, has instructed his department heads not to allow any more exemptions in sensitive coastal areas.

He also has directed his staff to review existing planning rules, find loopholes and inconsistencies, and change the laws before they create more problems.