LIHUE — Members of the community are expected to show up in force at a county meeting today in opposition to a development that would be located behind Kapaa Middle School.
The development of nearly 800 homes will be built on former agricultural land. Opponents say the development will increase the number of vehicles on the roads and that there simply isn’t the infrastructure to support that kind of growth on Kauai.
They also say the reduction of agriculture land on Kauai will reduce future food security and sustainability.
Today’s meeting amending the General Plan will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Historic County Building, on the agenda at the County Council meeting.
Also on the agenda is a real estate developer who announced his support for down-designating his previously planned resort in Princeville, thereby removing the proposed resort designation from the draft General Plan.
In a letter to Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., Jeff Stone, CEO of PRW Princeville Development Company LLC, said he is “amenable to the removal of the Princeville Central Plateau Makai Resort Designation.”
Sarah Blane, the mayor’s chief of staff, said the area of Princeville in question was given a “resort” land use designation in 1983 and has been designated as a “resort” in every General Plan since that time.
“In 2014, the Princeville Development Company proposed to develop Princeville Phase II,” Blane said. “This proposal prompted community concern and during ongoing discussions on the Draft General Plan update, many residents asked that the resort designation for this area be removed and instead designate that area for agriculture land use,” Blane said.
What this means, according to Blane, is the removal of the “resort” designation, will preclude any new development proposals that could include a resort for that property.
“The removal of the designation will prohibit the possibility of those ranch home sites to be converted to transient vacation rental use,” Blane said.
The mayor urged the council to implement this compromise that represented months of discussions between the administration and Stone’s company.
“This is the appropriate course of action for responsible development on the North Shore,” Carvalho Jr. said.
The development of the North Shore Preserve will include 75 equestrian and ranch home sites on 650 acres, “which continue the cherished 150 year tradition of ranching in Princeville,” Stone said.
