State gets report on Molokai project

A land-use panel has 30 days to rule on an impact statement on possible development

WAILUKU » A 3,100-page document reviewing the environmental impacts of a proposed development in West Molokai has been submitted to the state Land Use Commission.

Molokai Ranch, also known as Molokai Properties Ltd., filed the proposed final environmental impact statement Friday.

On the Net » A copy of the final environmental impact statement may be viewed today or sometime after at the commission's Web site: luc.state.hi.us.

The commission has 30 days to accept or reject the petition and has tentatively scheduled Nov. 15-16 for a hearing on Molokai, the ranch said.

Ranch spokesman John Sabas described the study for the 200-lot La'au Point as "probably more comprehensive than almost any of this type filed with the commission."

Sabas noted that representatives of the Molokai community were consulted during a two-year period to prepare the study.

Under a development plan, the ranch has proposed donating some 26,200 acres of its 60,000 acres to the newly formed Molokai Land Trust.

The ranch said it also wants to issue "protective easements," giving the community control over another 24,000 acres and protecting more than 85 percent of its lands from future development.