Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.

For better or worse,
resort would alter Puna

---

By Rod Thompson
Big Island correspondent

KAPOHO, Hawaii -- A 494-acre complex proposed for the Big Island's Puna coast, the first major resort in the Oahu-sized district, would unavoidably change the character of the area, a draft environmental impact statement says.

It's a matter of opinion whether the change would be good or bad, the study says.

The document recently released for public comment covers the Oneloa Onsen and Sports Complex proposed by A&O International, headed by Keichiro Asaoka of Japan. The manager of the project is state Sen. David Matsuura.

"Onsen" are therapeutic hot baths designed like natural ponds using natural geothermal groundwater. The water in the area is an average 88 degrees Fahrenheit, the study says.

The plan calls for an inland lodge with 40 units, a beach club with 30 units, and 125 detached chalets, which could be time-shares, longer-term rentals, or permanent homes.

A 27-acre sports and health complex would include a gymnasium, a 50-meter swimming pool, and tennis, track, and baseball facilities. An 18-hole golf course, open to the public, would cover 223 acres.

The plan has several agricultural components, including medicinal plants and tropical fruit trees to be planted along the golf course. All native forest on the property, about 100 acres, would be retained, and 50 acres would be planted with awa.

The $82 million project is expected to create as many as 410 jobs directly and another 700 indirectly in an area noted for high unemployment. Construction would be from 2002 to 2004.

Puna is a district where many people proudly call themselves "Punatics."

Newcomers include mainland retirees, but also "recluses and eccentrics" and "guerrilla farmers" who grow marijuana, the study says.

"Kamaaina residents often express a longing for the old days and a fear of being disenfranchised," it says.

The project might encourage a new type of immigrant. A&O International will consider funding the project through a provision in the U.S. Immigration Act of 1990, which allows foreigners to obtain a permanent-residency "Green Card" by investing $500,000 each in high-unemployment areas, the study says.

Some Puna residents see the project as beneficial, providing employment and recreational opportunities, the study says.

"Others believe the golf course will degrade the (area's natural) ponds and coastal waters, will change the laid-back ambience of the area, or increase traffic," it says.

The only other resort-like facility in Puna is the much smaller Kalani Honua Oceanside Eco-Resort, six miles southwest of the Oneloa site.

Both are on Highway 137, nicknamed the "Red Road" for its red cinder paving.

Part of the Oneloa project would include widening and re-routing a portion of the Red Road.

The applicant has also proposed turning the two-way, one-lane "Mango Grove Road" (Pahoa-Pohoiki) into a one-way road, straightening curves and eliminating many of the scenic mango trees, the study says.

The applicant would donate eleven acres for parking at the county's Ahalanui Park, which surrounds a natural thermal pond.