Some Council members have received complaints from residents about the development of the visitor accommodations on agricultural land. Council members plan to visit two campsites later this month.
Residents fear the ecotourism campsites along the island's southwestern coast might strain water resources and put visitors in areas not designated for tourism in the county general plan.
"They seem in direct conflict with the county general plan and community plans," said Degray Vanderbilt, a Molokai resident who served on a county planning advisory committee.
The ranch is erecting post and pier platforms and putting tents on them with compost toilets, wash facilities, beds and solar-powered lights and ceiling fans.
More than 60 building permits at two campsites, Kolo and Paniolo, have been issued for these wooden structures, ranging from 422 to 508 square feet in size.
The company, which owns about one-third of the island, plans to build 15 campsites in west Molokai, according to a county official. The ranch hopes to at tract visitors who want an outdoor experience to go with hunting and horseback riding.
On an island with an unemployment rate in excess of 10 percent, the ranch has its supporters. But some residents are upset because they feel the community was left out of the planning.
The county issued building permits for campsites at Paniolo and Kolo earlier this year, under a state law that allows open space recreational facilities on marginally productive agricultural land.
Some residents also have criticized Mayor Linda Crockett Lingle's administration for allowing the facilities to be built on agricultural land.
"The way I see it, it's really operating in a really gray area. To me, it seems like something that's happening without any control or input by people of this island," said Timmy Leong, an independent contractor.
Molokai Ranch President James Mozley has declined interviews or to describe the project in detail. In a written statement, he said the company was pleased to be bringing to Molokai family camping that respects the island's environment and heritage.
"Additionally, the jobs created by the camps will help to boost the island's economy," Mozley said.
In the past, the county has treated unzoned land as agricultural if it is classified as agricultural by the state.
County Public Works Director Charles Jencks said the campsites could receive building permits because they were on agricultural land with low productivity.
But a June 13, 1996, opinion from Corporation Counsel J.P. Schmidt's office said unzoned county land that was classified as agricultural by the state should be categorized as "interim." Lands under interim zoning require a variance from the Council.
Schmidt said the ranch can proceed to develop the 15 campsites because the county told the ranch to go ahead with the program and did not require the ranch to seek variances.