Developers are proposing to build more than 700 new homes in Kahuku — without substantially increasing the population and traffic along the Windward Coast.

Seven developers are poised to build affordable and high-end homes, hotels and a wind farm in a stretch of Windward coast from Punalu'u to Kahuku in the next 10 years with most of the development centered in Kahuku. That could change the small plantation-era town into a suburban community.

Residents have expressed concern about the potential for traffic buildup and whether the homes would be truly affordable. Developers tried to assure people at a meeting this week that their goal was to help the people in the Kahuku to Punalu'u community.

"If it's not affordable we won't build it," said Steve Hoag, with Hawai'i Reserves Inc., which manages and owns property affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "We have no intention of building housing for people who don't live in this area."

Hoag said that since most of the people who would buy the new affordable homes already live in the community with parents and grandparents, the population growth and the increase in automobiles won't be huge.

Five of the developers discussed their plans at the Ko'olauloa Neighborhood Board meeting in Hau'ula Wednesday. But only one is close to beginning construction and even that won't be for at least a year.

Of the four developers wanting to build new homes in Kahuku and neighboring Malaekahana, three said they are targeting residents who already live and work in the neighboring communities.

The fourth developer, Continental Pacific, wants to build 18 luxury homes on the shoreline in exchange for selling 72 Kahuku plantation homes to their renters for about $75,000 each.

Continental Pacific and Kuilima Resorts, who want to develop up to 3,500 rooms at Turtle Bay, were not at the meeting but sent statements that were read there.

Kamehameha Schools representatives attended the meeting and said the estate is working with the Punalu'u community to develop a master plan for its 3,600 acres there, which include agricultural, commercial, residential and conservation assets. The plan is expected to be completed this year.

UPC Hawai'i Wind is collecting data before building a 30 megawatt facility on 500 acres outside Kahuku near Turtle Bay. Noelani Kalipi of UPC said the plan calls for 12 wind turbines and could include farming on some of the land.

Malaekahana Hui West, headed by Moa Mahe, was the latest developer to announce its proposal to the community. It bought 455 acres of The James Campbell Estate land in 2006 at $17,000 an acre. Mahe said the organization has pledged 50 acres to Kahuku High & Intermediate School to build a new campus, will keep some of the land in agriculture and plans to build affordable homes on the rest.

"We want to take a proactive approach to find a way to provide housing for our workforce that live in this particular community," Mahe said at the meeting.

Hawai'i Reserves also said it wants to build homes for its employees and people who work in the community, especially those employed by Brigham Young University and the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Mahe operates several companies out of Hau'ula and has 85 employees. Half of Mahe's employees live in the community but only two own their own homes, he said.

Malaekahana West has formed a coalition that will help decide what will happen to the property and how it will be developed, Mahe said. To join the coalition visit kaleo.info.

"We don't decide what to do with the land — the community decides," Mahe said.

Mahe said the group is a long way from making a decision.

Manager's Ridge, which owns 58 acres above Kahuku high school, is the furthest along with its plans to build 104 homes. It is seeking approval for a state program that allows fast-tracking building permits when 51 percent of the homes in the development are affordable.

The group has a list of potential buyers, of whom 90 percent are Kahuku residents, said Kirk Fausett, one of the landowners.

"We're not going to have impact on schools," Fausett said. "We're not going to increase the traffic."

Fausett estimated the permit process would take 12 to 18 months and then another nine months for construction.

Residents at the meeting wondered how the developers would keep their homes affordable.

Hawai'i Reserves Inc. said it will lease 51 percent of its property to the buyers, with the condition that they share equity if the home is sold. The rest of the homes will be sold at market value, Hoag said.

Ka'a'awa resident Kathleen Connors said affordable housing in her community is being sold for vacation homes and that developers are using the problem to advance their agenda. When people can't afford housing it's because the cost of housing is too high and the wages are too low, she said.

"Of course, it is in the developers interest to only define the problem as the need for affordable housing," Connors said. "Then the solution is for the developers to build more housing. But it is in the community's interest to look at both issues. The best solution for most families is actually to emphasize raising their wages and incomes."

Junior Primacio, a Ko'olauloa Neighborhood Board member, wants the developers to work on traffic mitigation and build a bypass road to reduce traffic on Kamehameha Highway.

"If we're going to do anything about correcting some of the problems we have, now is the time," Primacio said. "We gotta have a collective attitude to accomplish these goals."

Hawai'i Reserves will include an internal road that residents can use to get from La'ie to Kahuku without going on to Kamehameha Highway. Malaekahana West and Manager's Ridge developers said they were looking into alternative routes.

Margaret Primacio of Kahuku said some fear the projects, especially the high-end homes, would cause housing prices to rise. "It's truly about sustainability," she said. "How you going to afford it once those other homes go up?"

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.