Plan seeks self-sufficiency for Waihee

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WAILUKU - While the Maui Planning Commission moves forward with some of the big-picture questions in the county's general plan, residents of Waihee are looking at what the plan would mean for their small town.

The draft recommended by the General Plan Advisory Committee earlier this year, and currently being considered by the planning commission, would allow 31 acres for growth on vacant lands along Kahekili Highway just mauka of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands' northernmost Waiehu Kou subdivisions.

Development of the area would add a projected 152 new residential units, as well as some businesses, to the quiet community a few miles beyond busy Wailuku.

The Maui Island Plan is meant to direct the quality and placement of development on Maui as the island's population continues to grow over the next 20 years. The draft plan recommended by the advisory committee would designate 3,103 acres for growth on the island, adding a projected 11,582 residential units.

The Maui Planning Commission is still reviewing the different planning policies contained in the plan, but it is expected to start discussing land-use maps outlining growth in different parts of Maui at its meeting July 7.

County Long Range Planning Division Chief John Summers said the idea behind making room for development in Waihee was sparked by the significant construction already happening in the area. DHHL projects have added hundreds of homes, as would the proposed Hale Mua development. But the area has very few commercial options, Summers noted.

"Anyone who needs to pick up a carton of milk or some eggs has to go into Happy Valley or another part of Wailuku or Kahului," he said. "The initial thought was that if we could bring in a little bit of neighborhood or country-town commercial support services, that would be a step toward making the community more self-sufficient."

Developers Betsill Brothers Construction and KSD Hawaii are proposing projects for the Waihee growth areas, Summers said, although he believed neither had submitted formal applications.

Any new development would still need to go through the community plan and zoning entitlement process, and would go through detailed reviews to make sure building designs would be appropriate to the community, he said.

But some Waihee residents are concerned growth could bring more traffic and bustle to their laid-back neighborhood - especially if it comes on top of Waiehu Kou and other large projects in the area that are still under way.

"If you've ever been to Waihee, you'll see how small we are," said Kaniloa Kamaunu. "We're just worried about what's going to happen when we have another 100 or 200 homes in our area - now we're not a small town anymore."

The community has already seen an increase in traffic and speeding since the DHHL subdivisions were built, he said.

"People don't slow down - they continue to speed going through our town," Kamaunu said.

That's a big concern, because unlike other small towns on Maui such as Paia and Makawao, Waihee's main road isn't lined with businesses, but with homes, he noted. That means children playing and elderly residents walking within a few feet of speeding cars.

Residents also now have to deal with traffic on their narrow road - especially in the early afternoon when school lets out.

"If we were to develop any more than we have, it would be like that all day," Kamaunu said.

His wife, Johanna Kamaunu, was also concerned about how development could impact natural resources like water, as well as archaeological sites in the area.

She said Waihee community members planned to meet, talk with developers and offer their own proposal for growth in their area.

Jocelyn Perreira, executive director of the Tri-Isle Main Street Association, said Waihee residents should have a community discussion about how much development they want. While community members may not want to see growth in their area, they should also think through the long-term impacts of not allowing any new development, she said.

"What if someday they decide they really need a small general store or something like that?" she asked. "They don't want to be locked out of that possibility. But that has to be something the community should get together and talk about, and we encourage that," she said.

Summers said he understood some Waihee residents felt "overwhelmed" by the prospect of more development in their area, and encouraged them to come to the planning commission and say how they think the Maui Island Plan should map growth in their part of Maui.

"We've still got a ways to go with this process," he said. "There's an opportunity for the community to come out and provide input so we can get the right balance."

* Ilima Loomis can be reached at iloomis@mauinews.com.