During a continuing review by the council Land Use Committee, Jencks said traffic studies have shown there is no need to upgrade Piilani to four lanes through the Wailea area until 2012, when additional capacity will be needed.

He said the developer would want to begin sales to generate revenues prior to paying its share of additional highway lanes.

Jencks responded to issues raised as the Land Use Committee continued its review of the Honua'ula project district involving 670 acres mauka of the Wailea Resort on Wednesday, the seventh session of what has been a three-week-long review.

In its discussions so far, the committee has reached agreement on seven of more than 30 proposed conditions for the project.

But after three hours Wednesday, Land Use Chairman Mike Molina recessed the meeting to 1:30 p.m. Monday in the Council Chambers

He asked council members to bring in recommendations for wording of conditions that have been proposed and new conditions if they have any.

Honua'ula, designated on the Kihei-Makena Community Plan as the Wailea 670 project district, would provide 1,400 houses, a golf course and a commercial center, with the development group promising to provide 700 affordable housing units in accordance with a county work force housing policy.

During the review Wednesday, Council Member Michelle Anderson said she will propose a condition to preserve 110 acres of wiliwili forest in the project area.

She said the state is spending millions to preserve dryland forests similar to the one in the Honua'ula project district.

"Here's one that is intact already. This is an opportunity here, folks," she said.

Requirements for highway widening and the dryland forest were among several conditions aired Wednesday.

Jencks said the Honua'ula development group is already planning an expansion of Piilani Highway through Wailea to four lanes in a partnership with the owners of the Makena Resort and the Wailea Resort.

But he wanted council members to reconsider their demands on the timing of the improvements, which call for the improvements to be done sooner rather than later.

Honua'ula traffic consultant Wayne Yoshioka, of PB America, said a traffic study reflected the possibility of having Honua'ula and other projects under construction in 2009.

The study projected that the capacity of Piilani would not be taxed before 2012, Yoshioka said.

"I still would like the improvements before 2012," Council Chairman Riki Hokama said.

Hokama said because the improvements would be done by the private sector it could be done sooner than later because it involves private funds.

"We always react after capacity is reached," he said.

Dealing with another proposed traffic condition, Jencks said Honua'ula will participate in modifying and expanding the Wailea Alanui and Wailea Ike Drive intersection but said the traffic requiring the modifications will come from other developments.

Hokama was adamant that road improvements should be done first, saying he didn't care where the traffic is generated.

"If it's going to the area, it's going to the area," he said.

On her demands for preserving more of the dryland forest, Anderson quoted from a letter from a University of Hawaii assistant professor and ecologist, Creighton Litton, saying Hawaiian lowland dry forests are among the most threatened ecosystems in the U.S.

The issue of preserving native plants was raised when Council Member Mike Victorino asked Jencks if part of the south end of the property could be made a preserve since Jencks said 250 affordable housing units are to be constructed at a North Kihei site.

Jencks said the south end of the property is more suitable for the golf course than the north end as the north section has better soil. He said there are no endangered plant species in the project district and no preserves of native species in the vicinity.

Within the project district there are "fragments" of dryland habitat, he said. But Honua'ula would work with naturalists and others on a plan to preserve stands of native plants, Jencks said.

Anderson objected, saying that homes will take up more space than the golf course. She said the pockets of plants are scattered because they are growing on old aa lava.