Maui County Council members unanimously approved Friday a 186-unit, fast-tracked affordable rental housing project, the Kenolio Apartments in Kihei, although lingering concerns remained about the capacity of the area’s infrastructure.

Council Member Don Couch of South Maui applauded developer Pacific West Communities Inc. for undertaking a much-needed affordable rental project, “but I also want to make sure they don’t cut corners.”

Drainage worries persisted about the flow of rain runoff through nearby Kaonoulu Gulch and the project plans to handle the water with culverts, he said. It will be the project management’s responsibility to keep drainage areas clean and free of obstructions, he said.

“If it floods, they could be responsible for the damage,” Couch said.

Council Member Riki Hokama said that he had reservations about the project’s impact on infrastructure and hoped it would be developed according to plans.

Nevertheless, “we continue to either exempt or delay the investment” in infrastructure, he said. “We ought to come to grips that the longer we wait the more it will cost, and the worse the situation will be to rectify.”

Jordan Hart, president of project consultant Chris Hart & Partners, said the development was planned in consultation with and the support of the Public Works Department.

The project underwent an environmental assessment and received a finding of no significant environmental impact, he said.

Testifier Daniel Kanahele said he had concerns about drainage in the flood-prone area.

Project plans call for constructing a culvert in a segment of Kaonoulu Gulch, which runs through the development area, he said. An existing culvert in the area already is filled with sediment, he told council members.

“Who’s going to make sure that sediment is cleaned out?” he asked. “You might have flooding issues.”

Hart said the project is designed to meet county drainage standards, and Kenolio Apartments management would be responsible for maintaining drainage systems, including manholes and a large culvert designed to capture runoff.

Kanahele said gulches, such as Kaonoulu Gulch, are significant to Native Hawaiians and are important, natural filters of runoff sediment before it reaches the ocean. Interfering with such natural processes increases marine degradation and impacts traditional cultural gathering practices protected under the state constitution, he said.

“Gulches have cultural and religious significance to the kanaka maoli and symbolize the spiritual link between the kanaka community and the environment,” he said.

Clean ocean water promotes the growth of limu and helps fish spawn, he added.

Speaking in favor of the project was Tom Blackburn-Rodriguez, representing Go Maui, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focusing on housing, jobs, water and other issues.

“This project is critical to the supply of affordable rental housing in Kihei where the rent for a two-bedroom apartment is running over $1,600 per month,” he said. “No major rental housing has been built in Kihei since the Piilani Gardens project” built in 2002-03.

“It is a cliche to say that Maui has an affordable housing crisis,” Blackburn-Rodriguez said. “But the crisis is not about housing. It is really about people, the growing homeless population and having safe and secure housing for our children.”

Project plans call for 63 one-bedroom units, 100 two-bedroom units, 23 three-bedroom units and two on-site manager units on nearly 8.3 acres bounded by Piilani Highway, Kaonoulu Street and Kenolio Road. Its southern boundary is in the vicinity of Kulanihakoi Gulch.

The $55 million development includes a community center, pool, fitness room, computer center and common areas for laundry, trash, recycling and recreation.

The 100 percent affordable housing project is planned for individuals and families with annual incomes not exceeding 60 percent of the county’s median income, or $46,060 for a family of four.

Despite ongoing concerns of the long-awaited and yet-to-be-built north-south collector road adjacent to the project site, council members agreed to allow roadway improvements proposed by the developers, which would cover only the frontage of the property. These include curbs, gutters, sidewalks, two vehicle lanes and a bike lane.

Developers pledged to donate 1.94 acres to the county to assist with the north-south collector road.

Couch said he would follow up with the Public Works Department to see that work on the road project is facilitated.

Because the project is being processed as a fast-tracked affordable development, it qualifies for exemptions from certain fees, procedures and construction requirements. Council members chose not to waive water system development fees of $500,000.

The project’s next step will be to seek a special management area permit from the Maui Planning Commission, Hart said.

* Brian Perry can be reached at bperry@mauinews.com.