Design Review Committee Hears Latest on Honua’ula Project

Still three to five years before moving into affordable homes

8/15/18 #kihei 

This afternoon our Design Review Committee chair Randy Wagner brought the meeting to order at 2:00 PM to hear the latest update on the South Kihei Honua’ula (formerly named Wailea 670 although it is not in Wailea) proposed project. KCA business member Munikeyo Hiraga, (MH), represented by Gwen Hiraga and Coleen Suyama, set up the meeting with Randy, and developer Charlie Jencks offered the presentation from Honua’ula Partners to update KCA on the status of the project (which dates back to 1988).

Jencks wanted to show how the project had been reduced in many ways from the original plan. The project was challenged for not doing a complete study of historical sites, cultural usage, and rare native plants. Eventually a settlement was reached with Sierra Club and Maui Unite (local residents and lineal descendants) that reduced the number of units and drastically increased the size of a nature preserve at the expense of a large golf course. All historical sites will now be preserved. The nature preserve will be owned by HILT and managed by a Cultural Advisory Committee.

A more recent change is to modify the required “affordable” housing segment so it can be built on the Honua’ula site itself instead of being built in North Kihei next to the Ohukai industrial park. Last year’s State Land Use Commission unanimous rejected the entire plan for those lands (the “Megamall”), including the  location for this housing. The affordable development must be complete before the market rate segment; therefor this request by Jencks to avoid several more years of delays.

The project is also required to widen the southern-most segment of the Pi’ilani Highway, but the implementation for that sounded vague, as Jencks questioned whether a 4-lane road was really needed here. He advised he is meeting with the State Department of Transportation on the matter.