Despite possible much-needed infrastructure improvements that could cost up to $3 million, a Maui County council committee recommended accepting eight donated roadway lots in Kahului from property owner Alexander & Baldwin Hawaii LLC.

Mayor Michael Victorino announced last month that A&B would be donating some beach parks and open space to the county, including an area of the north shore that the county had been thinking of buying. The mayor sent two resolutions to the Maui County Council to approve the acquisition of the donated lands.

On Monday, the Infrastructure and Transportation Committee unanimously voted to recommend adoption of a resolution that would allow the county to accept properties, ranging from about 18,000 square feet to about 3.6 acres, on Dairy Road and one block of Alamaha Street.

These parcels stretch from around the area of Costco to the old Harley Davidson store. Some of the parcels encompass areas within the Kahului Industrial Park, the Maui Electric Company Dairy Road subdivision and Airport Industrial Subdivision.

Director of Public Works Jordan Molina said that roadway is currently not up to county standards, so if the council decides to approve the acquisition from A&B, there will be a lot of much-needed work to be done, such as improving some of the sidewalks, shoulders and traffic signaling equipment, as well as addressing some minor encroachments at various locations and possible bike lane improvements.

The state Department of Transportation used to manage and care for this roadway before the new airport access road was built, committee Chairperson Yuki Lei Sugimura said.

“So there are some things to clean up with this dedication, but that being said, you know, this has been an often-used and a longtime-used roadway,” Molina said. “It’s appropriate for the county to be managing this road. It has regional connectivity, there are several highways that feed into it, industrial areas feed into it, commercial areas feed into it, so we are generally supportive of having the county be in control of this roadway.”

If and when the property is acquired by the county, Molina said that any work done to Dairy Road would be added to their capital improvement projects list for funding. All of the possible improvements would “real roughly” add up to $3 million for the whole segment and the projects could take awhile, he said.

However, Maui Metropolitan Planning Organization and the county could identify the improvement projects as a priority to shorten the timeline, Molina said.

Sugimura, as well as council members Tasha Kama, Alice Lee, Mike Molina and Keani Rawlins-Fernandez unanimously voted to recommend adoption of the resolution on first reading. Kelly King and Tamara Paltin were excused.

The committee also discussed the possible acquisition of several parcels and parks from A&B on the north shore, including the highly discussed Wawau Point in Paia.

However, the sandy two-parcel property stretching from Wawau Point, also called Baby Beach, to Baldwin Beach Park was downsized to 23 acres from the originally proposed 29.9 acres. A change was made in the resolution to include an exclusive easement of 6.91 acres behind Baby Beach, which would be acquired by the Maui Country Club, per previous negotiations between the club and A&B, county Budget Director Michele Yoshimura said.

If the county acquired the donated 23 acres, it would be kept as open space for land conservation, according to the council.

“It’s important to see the area protected and preserved and to the degree that we can, make sure that it’s maintained as this natural buffer, which I think serves all of us in terms of protecting infrastructure from coastal hazards,” said Tara Owens, University of Hawaii Sea Grant coastal processes and hazards specialist, during the committee meeting. “The best form of hazard mitigation is preservation of open space, which is what we’re aiming for here … You want to, as much as possible, keep a large parcel intact because that maintains and maximizes your flexibility in the future, under future scenarios with sea level rise, in managing the shoreline.”

Unsure of what would come of the Maui Country Club acquisition and subdivision boundary, shoreline activist Kai Nishiki said she hopes to see zoning changes made or protections set forth to ensure that the property remains an open space.

Still, receiving the 23 acres of Wawau Point to Baldwin would be a “very valuable” acquisition for the county, Nishiki said.

Hawaii Sea Grant has also just received a $1.4 million federal grant to put toward dune and ecosystem restoration at Kapukaulua (Baldwin Beach Park), so between that and the possible land transfer, Owens said “it seems that there are a lot of good opportunities coming together at once.”

David Yamashita, planner for the county Parks and Recreation Department, said the Baldwin Beach Park transfer donation would help to prepare and complete an adaptation plan, including results of the vulnerability study, mitigation strategy and dune restoration plans by UH Sea Grant.

“It will be a more complete study,” Yamashita said. “We think the additional acreage is going to expand the scope of the study, I think especially when we have to deal with management recommendations for Wawau point.”

A&B also proposed donating to the county the Ulmer Lime Kiln subdivision in Paia; the Mama’s Fish House subdivision in Kuau, which is the shoreline east of the restaurant containing 3.999 acres; a 1.4-acre property in Maliko Gulch, mauka of Hana Highway; Rainbow Park in Paia, containing 2.359 acres; the First Hawaiian Bank subdivision in Kalua, which is the commercial lot next to Hoaloha Park containing 64,259 square feet; and the 61,991-square-foot Maui Hukilau Hotel subdivision in Kalua.

Some of these parcels are already managed and maintained by the Department of Parks and Recreation.

However, Parks and Recreation Director Karla Peters said that the department is still looking into how they will best manage and operate the additional acreage, such as the Maliko Gulch parcel, which often has had issues with abandoned vehicles, Council Member Mike Molina said.

Calling the seven parcels “wonderful gifts,” Sugimura said the committee will revisit the item on Oct. 7 to make sure the document is updated and made public with the discussed amendments regarding the Maui Country Club easement.

Overall, Sugimura said that “I think we all see what good this is going to do for the community.”

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.