I want to voice my support for the proposed mall in South Kihei (The Maui News, June 21). I believe this mall will be good for Kihei and good for Maui. Residents on Maui need retail choices rather than having to fly off-island or pay to have things shipped here. This mall will provide construction jobs now and retail jobs going forward. This project will also lessen the traffic on Mokulele Highway with Kihei residents not having to go to Kahului to shop.
Having major retail brands available on Maui will be great for residents. This mall being next to the proposed Kihei high school is also a perfect location to provide these kids a place to work part time and socialize which they can walk to.
The land is already zoned light industrial/commercial (M-1), which includes B1, B2 and B3 zoning, for which the mall is an appropriate development.
The opposition to this mall seems to want to cover the Piilani Highway in warehouses and light industrial. I feel this is a blight compared to a mall.
The residents will benefit much more from a mall than warehouses. Anyone claiming that tourists don't want a mall when they come to Maui is ignoring the fact that they want warehouses even less.
Marc Lefebvre
Kahului
