A 202-unit workforce housing project planned for a 14.5-acre parcel along Kuikahi Drive in Wailuku received initial approval from a Maui County Council committee on Tuesday. Developed by Alaula Builders, Kuikahi Village will be marketed to households earning at or below 140 percent of the area median income. Proposed prices for the lowest of incomes are around $236,000 for a tiny-home model and around $754,000 for a single-family residence in the highest income brackets. A portion of the parcel is seen here in February 2021. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

After lengthy discussion, a Maui County Council committee threw its support behind a 202-unit, 100 percent workforce housing project in Wailuku that will include a mix of single-family, multifamily, duplex, live-work townhomes and tiny homes.

The council’s Affordable Housing Committee late Tuesday afternoon recommended approval of Kuikahi Village. The project, which sits on nearly 15 acres on the Waikapu side of Kuikahi Drive, below Wailuku Heights, will be marketed to households earning at or below 140 percent of the area median income.

Proposed prices for the lowest of incomes are around $236,000 for a tiny home model and around $754,000 for a single-family residence in the highest range of incomes.

The project is being developed by Alaula Builders, which has also developed Hale Kaiola in Kihei. Homes will be for Maui residents and owner-occupied. There will be no vacation rentals allowed and no Mainland buyers.

The committee voted 9-0 to recommend approval of the resolution. Because the project is being processed under the county’s fast-track process that allows incentives and exemptions for developers of 100 percent residential workforce housing, the full council has until Oct. 14 to take action on the project, otherwise, the housing director can. If no action is taken within 14 days, the project will be deemed approved, according to council documents.

Council Member Shane Sinenci thanked Alaula Builders President Doyle Betsill and Vice President of Development Lawrence Carnicelli for bringing the project forward, saying that it has “addressed a lot of the different AMI for our communities.”

“And I personally never seen a project with so many different varieties within it. I applaud that and I hope that we get to review further projects similar to this one,” Sinenci said.

Council Chairwoman Alice Lee said: “This is innovative, and hopefully other developers will follow suit with this type of mixture.”

She reflected on what Sinenci said, adding that it’s “a nice variety of offerings to folks in a fairly wide range of affordability.”

Council members at times went into detailed and lengthy discussion over the exemptions and modifications, including over what types of animals would be allowed in the project. Eventually members settled on the homeowners association allowing cats only in indoor settings and dogs in enclosed areas, such as yards. The feeding of feral cat colonies and feral chickens will be prohibited. The HOA must provide bait stations for rodents and mongooses and covered trash receptacles.

They also discussed the Wailuku Water Co. reservoir mauka of the project. While the reservoir has never failed, it is is undergoing safety upgrades and remediation process by Wailuku Water Co., according to information from the developer.

Council Member Tamara Paltin pointed out that the county Department of Public Works had noted that the reservoir has been classified as a “high hazard” dam by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources due to one or more physical or operational conditions and deficiencies.

Committee members put forward a condition that buyers will be made aware of the Wailuku Water Co. reservoir and allowed county attorneys to work out legal language to indemnify the county from legal action in relation to the reservoir and its issues.

According to a presentation to the committee by the developer, a new retention basin will be constructed for the new housing project that will take runoff from the Wailuku Heights area, which is currently being absorbed by the Wailuku Water Co. reservoir.

The new retention basin will eliminate county use of the Wailuku Water Co. reservoir and at that point Wailuku Water will have full control of intake for its reservoir.

The project will also include bike paths, landscaping, a pavilion, playground, spot parks, underground utility connections and two access connections to Kuikahi Drive.

The property owner is Kuikahi Properties LLC.

Committee Chairman Gabe Johnson on Tuesday deferred action on a related bill to amend the state land use district classification from agricultural district to urban district for the property. The matter will be forwarded from the full council to the Maui Planning Commission for initial review.

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