WAILUKU — The recent employee cutbacks by Maui Land & Pineapple Co. will not reduce the need for the company's proposed $400 million Pulelehua housing development in West Maui, a senior company executive said Wednesday.

Ryan Churchill, senior vice president for ML&P's Kapalua Land Co.,made the statement while testifying before the County Council's Land Use Committee at Chairman Mike Molina's request, The Maui News reported today.

Molina said he was alarmed when the company cut 274 positions on July 24. The cuts included 204 agricultural employees with Maui Pineapple Co.

Molina asked if the company still has enough of a workforce and financial capital to move forward with Pulelehua, which ML&P proposed to provide housing for ML&P employees.

Churchill said The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua will need 175 new employees when the Ritz-Carlton Club and the Residences at Kapalua Bay open in April 2009. The luxury condominium resort projects provide 84 units in the Residences and 62 "fractional ownership" units in the Club. The two projects are being built on the site of the Kapalua Bay Hotel, which was shut down and demolished in April 2006.

ML&P still has another 776 employees after July's cutbacks, Churchill said.

"This (the cutbacks) will have absolutely no impact on this project," Churchill said. "We expect our employment base to grow and the need for affordable housing for our employees to continue to grow with us.

"This is not a resort project," he said. "This is a project designed and developed for our work force. There will be no TVRs (transient vacation rentals)."

ML&P is seeking a community plan amendment and project district zoning for 310 acres of former pineapple fields below the Kapalua-West Maui Airport. It could take three years following land-use approvals before construction of homes begins.

When asked whether the current housing market crisis will endanger the project, Churchill said that by the time building begins, hopefully, the national economic downturn will be reversed.

Molina said he called the meeting for an update on the project in light of ML&P's decision to cut back its agricultural operations and lay off workers.

Under questioning by Molina, Churchill said the project is critical for supplying housing to ML&P employees. However, the company's financial viability does not hinge on its approval, he said.

Churchill said two-thirds of the project's 882 multifamily and single-family homes will fit within federal housing guidelines as affordable. The remainder will sell for market value, he said.

The project is intended to allow ML&P to comply with affordable housing mandates imposed on high-value units being developed in the Kapalua Resort as well.

Several Pulelehua supporters also applauded the development's community-friendly design with sidewalks, trails, green space, libraries, churches and parks. The project - which includes an elementary school, retail and office space - is mauka of Honoapiilani Highway and makai of the Kapalua-West Maui Airport.

A few council members and residents questioned whether it is safe to place a school and housing so close to an airport.

Churchill responded that it is a restricted airport with limited use, including no night landings, jets or overnight parking of aircraft.

The county received the voluminous application for Pulelehua in 2006.

Molina said he doesn't expect the committee to take final action until he receives a traffic impact study from the state Department of Transportation and a comprehensive guide to proposed developments in West Maui from the county Planning Department.

The state Land Use Commission and Maui Planning Commission have recommended approval of the project. The Pulelehua boundaries also are within the designated urban areas defied in the draft Maui County Island Plan under review as part of the General Plan update.

However, several speakers implored the committee to take a further pause. They said they wanted to see the new West Maui Community Plan completed before Pulelehua moves ahead.

In March, though, county Planning Director Jeff Hunt told the Land Use Committee that Pulelehua will not fall under a policy set by Mayor Charmaine Tavares to reject amendments to existing community plans until the Maui General Plan is completed.

Past governmental approvals exempt the project, he said.

Kula resident Dick Mayer recommended that the committee, at least, place a number of conditions on the project before approving any zoning changes. Among those conditions, Mayer suggested that the number of affordable houses built should always equal the number of market-rate homes constructed.

He also said the company should set aside 50 acres for a regional park near the project and make certain that affordable housing homeowners pay county utility fees, although the company will build and operate the development's water and sewer systems.

West Maui resident Stanley Zajak questioned whether the area has enough clean water or adequate infrastructure. And as far as traffic goes, the Lahaina bypass still hasn't broken ground after 20 years of planning and discussion, he said.

West Maui advocate May Fujiwara said West Maui needs affordable housing, badly. Right now, more and more young families are moving farther away from their jobs and parents, so they can buy more reasonably priced homes in Central Maui. Providing homes at Pulelehua will cut down on commuter traffic, she said.

More Maui News at www.mauinews.com.