WAILUKU – A Maui County Council committee deferred action Wednesday on a proposed fast-track, 184-unit affordable rental housing project in Kihei.

Land Use Committee Chairman Bob Carroll said after the meeting that “everyone was supportive of passing it out” of committee, but he decided to take more time to clear up language in the project agreements and resolutions while the matter remained in committee.

The committee is tentatively set to continue its review of the project on Sept. 30. Carroll said he expects it will be a short meeting.

Idaho-based Pacific West Communities is seeking council approval for the project on two parcels totaling 8.2 acres. The project is adjacent to Piilani Highway, near the intersection of Kenolio Road and Kaonoulu Street. Project access would be via Kenolio.

The project is proposed under Chapter 201H, Hawaii Revised Statutes. The law allows developers of qualified affordable-housing projects to seek exemptions from certain laws relating to planning, zoning, construction and development.

The council has until Oct. 23 to take action. If not, the proposal will be considered accepted.

Council members visited the property site Tuesday. That was followed by the committee meeting in Council Chambers on Wednesday afternoon.

The 100 percent affordable housing project would be offered to individuals and families with annual incomes not exceeding 60 percent of the county’s median income. It would include two unrestricted on-site manager’s units.

Project plans call for building 63 one-bedroom units, 100 two-bedroom units and 23 three-bedroom units. The development would include a community center, pool, fitness room, computer center and common areas for laundry, trash, recycling and recreation, with the latter including picnic tables and barbecues, a County Council news release said.

The applicant is seeking various code exemptions including waiving or deferral of fees, including those for traffic and roadway improvements and grubbing and grading permit fees. Other exemptions include placing underground existing infrastructure as well as exemption from various improvements for the north-south collector road adjacent to the project site, according to county documents.

The applicant is seeking other exemptions, including an allowance of an additional 3 feet and 4 inches in building height for the architectural roof design (38 feet, 4 inches in roof height).

Committee members heard testimony in support of the project Wednesday. Many of the testifiers told council members that affordable rentals are needed. But some testifiers and some council members, especially South Maui Council Member Don Couch, expressed concern about more traffic, drainage issues and about seeking more support from the project toward development of the north-south collector road in the area.

Stan Franco of Faith Action for Community Equity, a group that has been pushing for affordable housing, said he and the group have worked hard to see that affordable projects such as the Kenolio project get passed and housing is developed.

“We need to turn the corner. It’s not about drainage and traffic and everything else. It is. But it’s (actually) about putting people in housing,” Franco told the committee.

While he may not know the Mainland group developing the housing, Franco said he knows the local consultants and managers, all of whom he trusts.

“We got to trust someone to take care of these things,” he added.

Kihei Community Association President Mike Moran said that while the association fully supports affordable housing and rentals, it urges the committee to ensure there’s adequate infrastructure and that exemptions do not negatively impact the environment.

Issues he said that needed to be examined for the project included the yet-to-be-built north-south collector road nearby to help alleviate traffic, along with other issues including parking.

Shellan Rodriguez, a representative with Pacific West Communities, said in a presentation before the committee that while it may not be feasible for the project to do complete work on the north-south collector road as called for by some testifiers, the company would improve the roadway in front of the project.

Officials have said that work includes curbs, gutters and sidewalks along with striping for bicyclists, all of which would be dedicated to the county.

Rodriguez acknowledged concerns raised during the site visit that the project would impact parking and the neighborhood, but she said the developer would “do what we can to be good neighbors.”

The project could install no parking signs along the roadway if needed, she said. She added that the complex would have house rules, including quiet hours and background checks for occupants.

“There will be issues. It will not be perfect. (But) this will be an asset to this community,” Rodriguez added.

Deputy Public Works Director Rowena Dagdag-Andaya said the project is not seeking an exemption from county drainage requirements.

She added that a traffic assessment report showed no changes would be needed to be made by the developer because the level of service of the roads affected by the project did not meet mitigation requirements.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.