Maui council approves Makena rezoning request
| • | Map: Proposed Makena development |
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
WAILUKU, Maui — Makena Resort's rezoning request won approval from a Maui County Council committee last night, the initial step in what could lead to construction of Maui's first major resort development in more than 15 years.
Approval by the council's Planning and Land Use Committee came on a 7-2 vote in the sixth week of deliberations, an extended period that generated 41 conditions designed to temper the impact of construction and address concerns regarding affordable housing, drinking water, beach access, roadways and parks.
Council Members Wayne Nishiki and Jo Anne Johnson voted against the application, saying they still have concerns about the effect on the Makena region.
The zone change, if ultimately approved by the same members sitting as the full Maui County Council, would allow 150 acres of condos and apartments and a 28-acre time-share project just south of the Makena Resort Corp.'s Maui Prince Hotel.
The company is proposing a 20-year plan to build roughly 1,100 luxury homes, condominiums, apartments and a 89 time-share hotel. The rezoning, however, would allow an estimated 3,300 units.
The public review of the project is far from over. In addition to two hearings before the full council, each project that emerges from the zoning will face special management area permit hearings before the Maui Planning Commission.
Roy Figuieroa, Makena Resort Corp. general manager, said yesterday after the vote that the company is hoping to obtain its first permit on the time-share project within a year.
During the protracted hearing, council members heard testimony from 187 speakers and held scores of meetings. One late-night session stretched until 3:30 a.m.
But last night's vote was anticlimactic, because the previous votes on the individual conditions usually came down to a 7-2 vote.
Nishiki, committee chairman and an outspoken critic of the proposal, said he would reserve his comments for first reading before the council, though he did say he objected to conditions regarding affordable housing and water.
But Johnson offered an impassioned plea, saying a yes vote would indicate that the council was putting the needs of rich, off-island home buyers above Maui residents.
Johnson said Maui, and Makena in particular, cannot support another resort of this size. She said she can see the island being overdeveloped in a way that occurred in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a place she used to live.
"Ultimately, this is another nail in the coffin in our No. 1 status as a tourist destination," she said. "Trust me, people have no idea what's coming."
But others dismissed her concerns, saying that the conditions were enough to ensure that Makena is not overrun by development.
Council member Michael Molina added that: "We've all got to accept the fact that we cannot stop growth. The last time I checked, Maui is part of the U.S. and people can move here."
The hearing followed weeks of high-profile campaigning by the Makena Resort and development foes. Even the Maui Chamber of Commerce weighed in with newspaper ads asking council members to honor previous water commitments to the company and urging people to testify and not let "just 10 or 15 people who live here make your decisions for you."
Opponents gathered petitions, held a rally, staged a Makena video contest and ran newspaper ads to counter full-page ads by the resort.
Opponents said the development plans are too large for an area lacking adequate water and roads. They say the proposal would compromise the region's Native Hawaiian cultural artifacts, undermine its coastal waters, threaten beach access and add more traffic to Kihei's busy streets.
The resort and its supporters said that Maui's leaders set aside the Makena area for resort development decades ago. The resort, they say, has built millions of dollars worth of infrastructure to support expansion, and it should not be punished for waiting until now to go forward with its plans.
Reach Timothy Hurley at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
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