Land panel OKs Kauai
upscale home project
LIHUE >> The planned 1,045-acre Kukuiula resort development, which may eventually contain 1,500 luxury homes on Kauai's South Shore, passed a major hurdle yesterday when it won approval from the state Land Use Commission.
Kukuiula Development Co. figures it still has up to two years of work obtaining Kauai County permits. It estimates it will be about 10 years until the project is finished.
The Kukuiula project dates to the late 1980s and has been the subject of numerous controversies. The landowner, Alexander & Baldwin Inc., has shifted back and forth between building a resort and building upscale homes on the property.
The effect on traffic in the adjoining town of Koloa has been a major debate point.
Two years ago, A&B Properties formed a joint venture with DMA Associates Inc., of Scottsdale, Ariz., to develop the parcel.
In approving the project, the Land Use Commission did not address the question of requiring the developer to build affordable housing for middle-class Kauai residents as part of the overall plan.
It left that question up to Kauai County officials.
State Sen. Gary Hooser (D, Kauai-Niihau) wrote the Land Use Commission yesterday, "Meaningful proposals for additional affordable housing in lower price ranges ... are lacking."
He suggested the commission impose requirements for building more middle-class homes.
Kauai has had a severe shortage of housing for middle-class residents since the current housing boom began in late 1998.
"In effect, the LUC said, 'Go deal with the county' on that issue," said Mike Roberts, a vice president of Kukuiula Development.
Kukuiula is in the Poipu Visitor Designation Area, which means no further county approval will be required if the homes built there are used for vacation rentals.
The rapid growth in vacation rentals on Kauai -- often at the expense of long-term rental tenants who have been evicted -- has been the target of anti- development groups on the island.