Kim veto might not
halt Kona project
The mayor cites traffic as his
concern but could face an override
HILO >> Mayor Harry Kim vetoed an 83-acre commercial and residential project near Keahole Airport in Kona yesterday, saying a state highway cannot handle the traffic it would generate.
Kim said a traffic analysis by a consultant for developer Clifto's Kona Coast LLC revealed that building just half of the project would add 1,000 cars turning to and from Queen Kaahumanu Highway, which fronts the project, during the peak hour.
The highway already has 1,500 cars passing the site now at the peak hour, and the state Department of Transportation said the highway reached its capacity in 1998.
The state plans to widen the highway in the area to four lanes, but the earliest that would take place would be 2009. The Clifto's project would be finished in 2006.
"We should not approve major commercial re-zonings that depend upon highway improvements before we are certain that the improvements will occur," Kim's veto message said.
The project includes a major shopping center, a 250-room hotel and 390 condominium or apartment units.
Kim said he could accept the project if a condition for approval were added that said shopping center construction could not start until the second half of the Queen Kaahumanu widening.
But County Council Chairman Jimmy Arakaki said he has no intention of adding that provision to the rezoning bill, since it would delay approval. Six Council members voted for the project three weeks ago, enough to override Kim's veto.
The two Council members from Kona voted against the project then, and another Council member was absent.
Despite his veto, Kim said he acknowledged "with gratitude" the public benefits that Clifto's developer, Cliff Morris, agreed to provide. Those include up to $750,000 for highway planning and a half-mile shoreline park averaging 300 feet wide.
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