#kihei 4/25/17

In our second time this year for this volunteer group, we were testifying on the Kamaole Grand’s request for an SMA permit to the Planning Commission with a new chair, Sandra Duvauchelle , and two new commissioners, Tina Gomes and Christian Tackett.

Our testimony basically was the advice we provided to the development team about this seven building residential project between SKR and Liloa Drive after our Design Review Committee scored the project a few months ago.

Potentially the most severe problem is egress via basically a shared driveway onto SKR. See below our written testimony submitted last Friday. 

So what was the outcome? After nearly 4 hours volunteered time this morning, we can report the legal intervention by a nearby AOAO was denied. We were out of time for an afternoon session. Look for a professional report in tomorrow’s Maui News.

SEE

Planning panel moves market-priced condo development in Kihei forward

217-unit project gets commission nod despite worry from neighbors over increased traffic

 

This is the site of the Kamaole Grand, a $90 million, 217-condominium unit project behind the Kamaole Shopping Center along South Kihei Road. This photo was taken Tuesday. The Maui Planning Commission granted a Special Management Area use permit for the project. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

WAILUKU — An approximately $90 million, 217-condominium unit project behind the Kamaole Shopping Center along South Kihei Road moved closer to fruition Tuesday as the Maui Planning Commission granted a Special Management Area use permit for the project.

The Kamaole Grand, which will contain seven four-story buildings, a swimming pool, recreation center and barbecue area, sits on 8.39 acres sandwiched by housing and commercial uses and is classified as “infill,” project representatives said. It will consist of one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

Its major access point will be mauka of the project at Liloa Drive, with a makai access at South Kihei Road. The developer of the market-price project is No Ka Oi Development LLC.

At least six testifiers had concerns about traffic and drainage in the area as well as the project’s impact to neighboring properties.

More work will be done on the project’s design before seeking building permits, planning consultant Jordan Hart of Chris Hart & Partners said after the meeting. He said that, under the SMA guidelines, construction will have to commence in three years on the project.

 

The Kamaole Grand is planned to contain seven four-story buildings, a swimming pool, recreation center and barbecue area.The project sits on 8.39 acres sandwiched by housing and commercial structures. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

All seven commissioners present at Tuesday’s meeting voted in favor of granting the SMA. The chairperson, Sandra Duvauchelle, does not normally cast a vote unless in tie-breaking situations.

Commissioners did include special conditions for the project, such as prohibiting short-term rentals and requiring electronic monitoring of soil erosion during construction.

Commissioner Lawrence Carnicelli said that, with an SMA project, “we have one bite of the apple” (as the project will not come before the planning commission again) and commissioners want to ensure that things are done correctly.

He said that the condition of no short-term rentals was necessary because, if they were allowed, they “would greatly affect our community.”

In response to concerns about the project’s vinyl fencing that could break down and allow car lights to shine into neighboring bedrooms, Hart said that the developer would look into alternatives, but he could not immediately commit Tuesday to changing the fence.

Testifier Ethel Bellway, president of the Kihei Kai Nani Homeowners Association which borders Kamaole Grand on the Wailea side, suggested there be a wall between the properties rather than the proposed fence. She said that a wall could keep any water runoff in the Kamaole Grand property from spreading to other properties.

Several commissioners had lingering concerns about traffic in the area, and wanted detailed information about drainage designs and grading, which was not immediately available Tuesday.

Testifier Mark Joiner, who lives in the residential community mauka of the project, said that he is concerned about traffic on Liloa Drive. He has children and said that other neighborhoods in the area are full of children who could be impacted by the increase in cars.

Project representatives said that levels of service of nearby intersections would not be greatly impacted by the project and that no traffic mitigation would be needed. Some testifiers suggested turning the South Kihei Road access into an emergency-only access as well as restricting left turns into the project from South Kihei Road.

Project representatives said it would be hard to restrict access to and from South Kihei Road as that entrance is used by other properties and is needed in case of emergencies on Liloa Drive.

Hart said there is a stacking lane to turn left from South Kihei Road into the project.

He said that residents of the project should be the ones to determine their best routes. Studies have shown that 90 percent of the project’s traffic will go through Liloa Drive with about 10 percent taking South Kihei Road, according to the project’s presentation Tuesday.

Kamaole Grand will allow the neighboring Kihei Regency apartments access to Liloa Drive, but there will be gates at the entrances and exits to prevent nonresidential traffic from using the property to travel between Liloa Drive and South Kihei Road, Hart said.

In response to Commissioner Christian Tackett’s concerns about jobs at the project, Hart told commissioners that the developer is looking to hire local union workers for construction.

Kamaole Grand will fulfill its county affordable housing condition by using credits from the nearby Kamaole Pointe, a 129-unit, workforce housing complex. The project received its own SMA use permit last year. The Kamaole Grand developer is involved with the Kamaole Pointe development.

A petition to intervene on the SMA application was denied. Attorney Tom Pierce had tried to intervene on behalf of The Association of Apartment Owners of The Royal Mauian, which sits across South Kihei Road from the Kamaole Grand site.

Pierce said that his clients are concerned about the increase of traffic in the area as well as drainage and flooding, and that they had standing to intervene because of their proximity to the project.

But the attorney for Kamaole Grand, Craig Nakamura, said that a petition to intervene must show a harm that is different from the community at large, which is not the case for The Royal Mauian residents.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.

 

April 20, 2017 

Testimony pertaining to:

                Special Area Management Use Permit (SM1 2016/0007)

                Kamaole Grand Condominium Residences

                2455 South Kihei Road

                Kihei, Maui, Hawaii

                TMK: 3-9-020: 007

I am submitting testimony for the Design Review Committee of the Kihei Community Association.  We do not support the project in its current form.

Please see the letter attached that is the Design Review Committee’s response to the presentation made before our committee by the developer’s design team. We have not yet received a response to our concerns.

Our January 19 letter contains 12 separate items of concerns that range from a request for “Low Impact Design” consultation to lessen runoff to a request to realign buildings and driveway off Liloa  in such a manner that the greenway and view corridor to the mountain can flow through the entire project. One of our highest concerns is that we feel there will be an adverse impact if the development uses access onto South Kihei Road.  This is an already overly congested area.  Please see item #2 that addresses this issue.

Thank you very much,

Mary R. Wagner, Chair Person for KCA Design Review Committee

This is the letter referenced

January 19, 2017

Jordan Hart & Raymond Cabebe

Chris Hart & Partners

115 N. Market Street

Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii 96793

Aloha Jordan and Raymond,

Thank you for coordinating the meeting with No Ka OI Development and their consultants, Design Partners, Inc., RPapa Construction, Belt Collins, and Otomo Engineering. It’s very helpful to have the whole team in on our discussion.

We appreciate that you have come to the KCA for input. Our suggestions are founded in communicating to you the needs and wishes of the community that will be most impacted by your project. We think of it as “win-win” to help you move more smoothly through the process with our support and provide greater value and acceptance of the development within the neighborhood.

The Design Review Committee evaluated Kamaole Grand with our scorecard. At this point we are using the scorecard as an internal guide only. I will try to layout the basic ideas that we see can contribute to making your project more successful.

Our comments:

1. Spell the name Kama’ole with the correct Hawaiian spelling, “Kama’ole”. Consider using Hawaiian word “Nui” instead of Grand. “Kama’ole Nui”.

2. Use the South Kihei Road (SKR) entrance only for pedestrians and bicyclists. Allow access through it for vehicles only in a state of emergency. Use a removable bollard to block the road for vehicles. Consider future use of the entrance at a later date if appropriate. This is an especially critical issue to neighbors.

3. Improve pedestrian access through the lower entrance and down the access road to SKR through improved sidewalk, crossings, and landscaping.

4. Align Building 1 with Buildings 2, 4, and 6. Relocate the main entranceway at the center of the site to allow a greater view corridor from within the complex to the mountain and from the North South Collector Road toward the ocean. Locate the curved drop off area at the top of the site by the entrance.

5. Determine the best route for bikes to flow throughout the site. Change the color and/or texture of the paving to indicate this best route to insure greater clarity and safety to all. P.O. Box 662 ? Kihei, Maui, Hawaii 96753 ? Phone: 508.499.9996 www.GoKihei.org kca@gokihei.org

Jordan Hart & Raymond Cabebe January 19, 2017 Page 2

6. Provide rain gardens and swales to retain and filter water in all planting areas. Consider pervious paving to greater increase water filtration on site above and beyond county requirements.

Excellent Consultant – Amanda Cording, Ph. D., EcoSolutions, 808-367-1026.

7. Consult Developers’ page on KCA website for our recommended Best Management Practices During Construction. Implement as many of these as feasible.

8. Keep stair towers open to allow trade wind air ventilation through the “green screens” to allow cross ventilation through individual units and to keep the hallways fresh and naturally lit.

9. Provide an alternative to vinyl fencing to screen headlights etc. Vinyl fencing deteriorates quickly and is not an ecological material.

10. Step back the 14’ north side retaining wall with terraces and landscaping to make it less imposing.

11. Incorporate solar technologies for communal energy needs including pool pumps and lighting.

12. We are very concerned about the cumulative impact of traffic given the approved and anticipated surrounding projects. This project will add more than 1000 auto trips a day to Liloa in high season. Given no master traffic plan for South Maui, it appears likely that much of the year we will have severe impacts at the Liloa Hema intersections as projects are developed.

Please let us know your response to our recommendations. We thank you for coming to us and we look forward to working with you in the future.

Mahalo,

Randy Wagner, AIA, LEED AP

KCA Design Review Committee Chair