Resort land on Molokai
is kept for urban use

The Maui Council's move defeats
hopes for more open space

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Star-Bulletin staff

WAILUKU >> The Maui County Council decided yesterday to keep 75 acres of Kaluakoi Resort for future resort and multifamily development, despite a move by some Molokai residents to turn the areas into "open space."

"We're satisfied, certainly, with what the Maui County Council decided," said Scott Whiting, president of Molokai Ranch Ltd., new owners of the 4,000-acre resort.

Council member Charmaine Tavares, who voted to support the urban use of the land in the Molokai Community Plan, said taking away the land-use designation would have sent the wrong signal to potential developers and investors.

Tavares said the proposal requires a plan for preserving archaeological sites before any grading takes place at sites, such as Kawakiu and Kaiaka.

Council member Jo Anne Johnson, who voted against the proposal, said the Hawaii Supreme Court rejected a developer's proposal to build in a culturally sensitive area in the mid-1980s, and she was worried the same mistakes would be made again.