State orders affordable
housing for Maui projectAlexander & Baldwin must set aside
at least 10 acres for housing
KAANAPALI, Maui >> The state Land Use Commission has approved a 138-acre light industrial area in Kahului, but is requiring the developer to provide at least 10 acres of affordable housing.
The developer, Alexander & Baldwin Inc., will also be required to conduct a study on the impact of the proposed project on the need for employee housing.
"I think the commission was reasonable, and we have no problem with it," said Stanley Kuriyama, chief executive officer for the company's subsidiary A&B Properties.
Kuriyama said he expects to be able to submit the project to the county for zoning approval by the summer.
The sale of lots at Maui Business Park Phase II is expected to take place from 2008 to 2023.
The land, on two parcels south of Dairy Road, includes an area next to A&B's first phase of Maui Business Park, now occupied by a number of businesses, including Home Depot, the Maui Marketplace and Wal-Mart. A smaller parcel is on the east side of Hana Highway near Kmart and Costco.
Commissioners are requiring the firm to sell or lease no more than 50 percent of the property for retail use in the first eight years after receiving its county zoning and to conduct a traffic impact study.
The firm has also agreed to limit the use of 20 acres of land near an airport area that would be designated as a potential impact area if a runway was extended to 9,600 feet.
During the meeting at a conference room at Sheraton Maui in Kaanapali last week, some residents said the project would eventually generate an estimated 7,800 jobs and that 10 acres for affordable housing was insufficient.
Lance Holter, a Paia resident, said he felt the firm, which owns 37,000 acres on Maui, should be donating 138 acres for housing.
Holter said the firm is expected to receive an estimated $100 million in profits after build-out of the project.
Sean Lester, another Maui resident, asked the commission to limit the number of big box stores allowed in the new development.
Lester said big box stores have had a negative impact on the community, driving out small businesses.
"What do the people of Maui County get for that? We get low-paying jobs," Lester said.
Commissioners Steve Montgomery and P. Ray Catalani said they were worried that Maui County had not progressed in developing affordable housing, including 12 acres provided by the firm 12 years ago when it applied for an earlier industrial zoning.