Residents speak out against 306-unit Kahaluu condo plan at hearing

KAILUA-KONA — Several Kona residents on Monday pushed back against a proposal to build a 306-unit condominium development in Kahaluu. Public testimony lasted for more than 45 minutes and more is expected today.

The proposal is currently in the midst of a contested case hearing, which kicked off Monday at the West Hawaii Civic Center. The hearing will continue today and Friday if necessary.

The county’s Leeward Planning Commission last year granted a petition for the hearing from Kahaluu resident Simmy McMichael, who raised concerns about historical sites and features in the area as well as the pressure increased development would have on traffic, public utilities and Kahaluu Bay, located north of Keauhou.

During the hearing, McMichael questioned several people connected to the project about historical sites found on the property. The hearing also gave local residents a chance to provide their own input on the project.

“We need infrastructure improvement before development in this area should be considered,” said Peter Kinchla, one of the many area residents who spoke out against the project.

Kinchla spoke about the need for improvements, such as increased parking and sidewalks to improve safety, rather than increasing traffic “on an already worn out, overloaded and dangerous Alii Drive.”

“It’s not sensible, to me, to build more till you’re ready to accommodate more,” he said.

Janice Palma-Glennie made a similar point, saying the area can’t handle much more in its current state.

“It doesn’t take a study to realize that, in many respects, this area is at peak carrying capacity,” she said.

Palma-Glennie added that regardless of how many roads get built, they’re filled up in no time before any connector roads go in and traffic is reduced back to a crawl.

Her five-minute drive to the store, for instance, has become a sometimes 20-minute drive.

Traffic would enter and exit the project via a driveway conducted through a vacant lot on Alii Drive that connects to the development’s makai side. The developer is also proposing a possible emergency access route that would provide access to Laaloa Avenue in the event of an emergency.

An analysis included in the final environmental assessment for the project concluded that the new intersection of Alii Drive and the proposed driveway would operate at the best possible level during peak hours, saying that the driveway “will provide sufficient capacity to accommodate project-generated traffic at an acceptable level of service.”

Furthermore, southbound traffic along Alii Drive would also operate at the best possible level during peak hours, saying traffic turning left into the development “will have a minimal impact on northbound and southbound traffic flow along Alii Drive.”

Also speaking out at the hearing were those defending sites of cultural and historical value in Kahaluu.

The developer has already in its final assessment set aside parts of the property for preservation of certain features on the property, including those believed to be burials or possible burials. The Great Wall of Kuakini, built in the early 1800s by the island’s first royally appointed governor, is also slated for preservation.

But some, like Mitchell Fujisaka, whose roots in Kahaluu go back generations, said the efforts haven’t been thorough enough.

“Why don’t we say we do cultural archaeological studies?” he asked. “Then you get to the roots.”

Fujisaka also mentioned the numerous burials in the area that may not be known of or marked, adding his concern that construction work could turn up old burials.

“In closing I would like to say ‘kapu is kapu,’” said Fujisaka. “It’s no, no, no.”

Others came out of concern of the island’s future generations. Chad Villarin, for example, mentioned his recently born son when speaking of his own upbringing.

“When I hear that there’s this huge construction property and all this stuff that’s going to be going on, it makes me wonder if he’s going to have the same kinda childhood as I had,” he said.