Posted on: Tuesday, June 12, 2001

Wai'alae club changes on hold

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Bureau

KAHALA — The city planning department has withdrawn its approval of improvements to the Wai'alae Country Club after residents complained that they were not made aware of information appearing in an environmental assessment in a timely manner.

The club's architect, Kauahikaua & Chun, did not mail letters addressing the improvements, dated March 12, to residents and lawmakers until this month.

Yet the letters were included in the country club's final environmental assessment, a document needed to obtain city approval for the permits.

The country club wants to build a 60-foot-high safety net around a driving range — 20 feet higher than the net there now — and add a gate off Waiholo Street and a cart path near the seventh and eighth holes.

Rep. Barbara Marumoto, R-17th (Kahala, Wai'alae Iki), was among those who said she did not receive any letters from the country club until June 5.

"I think it's really strange that our letters were printed in the environmental assessment, but never mailed," Marumoto said yesterday. "An explanation is needed."

Dwight Kauahikaua, an architect at Kauahikaua & Chun, the firm hired by the country club to obtain the permits, declined to discuss the letters, and referred calls to his office today.

A hearing is to take place at 10:30 a.m. today at the Kahala Elementary School cafeteria, 4559 Kilauea Ave.

Residents have been complaining since August that the country club has not notified them of its intentions. The comment period was extended to accommodate the community's wishes.

The request eventually must be approved by the City Council. The city Department of Planning and Permitting issued a finding of no significant impact on May 11. Less than a month later, however, the department withdrew its finding.

"It really angers me that they have submitted a false document and the government is moving forward," said Lester Leu, Wai'alae Golf Course Association president. "I can't make rhyme or reason out of it."

The city could not be reached for comment.