LIHU’E — Representatives for the Poipu Beach Resort Association and the Lawai Road Action Committee say the 1,002-acre project Kukui’Ula Development Co. Hawaii has proposed at Kukui’ula in Po’ipu will be good for the area.
Earlier, members of the Lawai Road Action Committee had threatened a lawsuit if the project proved detrimental to quality-of -life or property-value issues.
The proposed project will boost property values and increase South Kaua’i’s appeal as a world-class visitor destination, representatives of the organizations agreed.
But at a Kaua’i County Planning Commission meeting at the Lihu’e Civic Center yesterday, they disagreed on an issue of vital concern to both — what to do with an emergency road that leads to Kukui’ula Harbor in Po’ipu.
Margy Parker, executive director of the Poipu Beach Resort Association, said allowing two-way traffic on the emergency road all the time would accommodate people at the resort and others.
The road would allow people to get to Spouting Horn, one of Kaua’i’s top visitor attractions, and other areas in Po’ipu without having to go through the resort and get on Lawa’i Road.
But John S. Carroll, an attorney with offices in Honolulu and Kailua-Kona, and Gregory Schredder, a representative for Lawai Road Action Committee, want the road to be used the way it has always been used, for emergencies only, and only for makai-to-mauka motorist traffic.
The men said opening the road every day would increase the risk for traffic deaths or accidents, and ruin the privacy afforded multi-million-dollar beachfront homes on Lawa’i Road.
Instead, another road should be constructed by the developer to bring vehicles and buses to Spouting Horn, and that buses should not be allowed on Lawa’i Road, the men said.
No resolution was reached, but the developer has agreed to work with both groups on any traffic issues related to the proposed project.
The commission took no action on the matter, and officially closed the public hearing on permit applications for the proposal. Residents, however, can submit written comments for the next six days.
Representatives of Kukui’Ula Development Co. (Hawaii), subsidiaries of Alexander & Baldwin and DMB Associates Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz., are proposing the project.
County officials and the developer may still find themselves locked in lawsuits if traffic concerns aren’t resolved, the men cautioned.
On Parker’s suggestion to use the emergency road to Kukui’ula Harbor full time, Shredder said “We really don’t want anything feeding down to the harbor, just for the fact that everybody will want to come and go through that area, and make a tremendous impact on us.”
One of Schredder’s homes is just off Lawa’i Road, on Amio Road leading to Kukui’ula Small Boat Harbor.
Schredder said residents and visitors used the road to get safely to the mountains during Hurricane ‘Iniki in 1992, as hurricane-generated waves pounded the shoreline and severely damaged homes on Lawa’i Road and hotels in Po’ipu.
There would have been deaths or more injuries if the road had not been used, Schredder said.
Carroll said the idea of having the emergency road opened all the time could be disastrous in a future emergency, whether man-made or natural.
If an accident occurred on the road, people escaping on it could become trapped, Carroll said.
Parker said she recognizes the benefit of the emergency road, and favored opening the road all the time to accommodate people who wanted to get to the Spouting Horn area from the resort.
“It is a difference of opinion,” said Parker in standing by her belief that the road be opened full time. It would alleviate traffic congestion on Lawa’i Road in the long run, Parker said.
Carroll and Schredder said a better option would be for the developer to build another access road from the resort to the Spouting Horn area, with rules in place that buses not be allowed to travel on Lawa’i Road.
Mike Roberts, an executive with DMB and a vice president of Kukui’Ula Development, said both groups proposed options, and that he would work with both.
Traffic congestion is already a major problem for Lawa’i Road residents, said Frank Ritchey, a two-year resident on the county road.
In a letter sent to the county, Lawa’i Road residents stressed an accident could happen at any time on Lawa’i Road, as there are “buses, hikers, joggers, surfers, kids running across the beach road, the trouble with the sunset hitting your eyes,” Ritchey said.
Carroll said that with the holding of a number of hearings where people have testified about potential traffic hazards, the county could be liable in the event of an accident on Lawa’i Road.
“If there is a serious accident up there, worse, death, the county is going to be on the hook for punitive damages,” Carroll said.
Carroll said it was his impression that no traffic study had been done on the area since 1992, but newly elected commission Chairman Theodore Daligdig III said a government report on the matter exists, and recommended Carroll get a copy of it.
On matters related to the proposed development, Commissioner Lawrence Chapin voiced concerns that quoted “gap housing” prices of $300,000 to $400,000 may be too high for many Kaua’i buyers.
Gap housing would benefit people who don’t qualify for affordable housing projects, but may not be able to buy market-priced homes.
Parker said the gap housing figure might be closer to $250,000 to $450,000, adding that eligible buyers would most likely be dual-income families making between $60,000 to $120,000 a year, benefit from favorable loan rates, and have enough for a down payment.
Parker said many people commute to the South Shore to work, and that they wouldn’t add to the daily traffic congestion into the area if they could afford to buy a home there.
Both sides praised efforts by the developer to meet with them in drafting plans for the project.
“Even when a decision is made on this, we will not stop talking to our neighbors, people who have an interest in this project,” said Kaua’i attorney Michael Belles, who represents the developer. Carroll and Schredder said they hoped the relationship remains strong.
Within the 1,002 acres at Kukui’ula, the developer is proposing to develop a maximum of 1,500 units, including a 64-room hotel, an 18-hole golf course, recreational facilities, 26 acres for commercial uses, parks and open spaces.
An additional 60 affordable housing units also will be built by Po’ipu Road.
The developer also is seeking to expand a “visitor designation area” designation by the county from 160 acres to all 1,002 acres, to allow for vacation rentals and timeshare units.
The time share units will be limited to about 106 acres within the resort.
Staff Writer Lester Chang may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net.
