An association of Punalu‘u residents is once again challenging a resort development planned for the area.
In May, the Punalu‘u Village project — a 225-unit resort community to be built on a 147-acre parcel in Punalu‘u mauka of the black sand beach there — stalled after two different groups of Ka‘u residents successfully appealed for a contested case against the project during a meeting of the Windward Planning Commission.
A third group of residents also requested a contested case on the same day, but they were denied when a majority of commissioners did not vote to grant it.
At the time, a representative of that group said he wasn’t sure if they would try again. But they subsequently filed another application for a contested case that will be discussed Thursday at this week’s commission meeting.
Colony 1 is a mixed-use development of 76 individual properties located directly adjacent to the planned Punalu‘u Village site. The Association of Apartment Owners of Colony 1 at Sea Mountain has argued in its petition for standing in a contested case that the owners’ property will be negatively impacted by the proposed resort project.
In particular, the owners have argued the development of Punalu‘u Village will have significant negative impacts on the area’s public water, fire suppression and wastewater systems, which they say are in disrepair.
Included in the association’s petition are various correspondences with water providers about the condition of the area’s water systems over the years. A 2020 report about the condition of Punalu‘u’s water infrastructure noted several leaks and inoperable equipment — notably, six of the 17 fire hydrants in the area were found to not work.
“It should be noted that there is no current competent (environmental assessment or impact statement) to guide the commission in its decision-making process,” Colony 1’s Board of Directors said in a letter to the commission. “The latest ‘Draft EIS’ was performed in 2006 and it is unclear if it was ever approved. … A current EA and EIS may find the wastewater system and treatment plant currently in use to be so far below current standards as to be obsolete.”
“Ironically, the very concerns raised by Colony 1 in their petition are exactly what the proposed project will provide, which is the creation of a robust infrastructure system that supports both the existing units at Colony 1 as well as the proposed project,” said Black Sand Beach LLC, the entity developing Punalu‘u Village, in a written response to the petition.
In another letter, an attorney for Black Sand Beach also argued the association doesn’t have the right to resubmit their petition, because the commission already voted against their first petition back in May.
During that hearing, commissioners raised questions about whether the association’s representative had been authorized to speak for the group. The representative was unable to provide confirmation of that authorization, leading three commissioners to vote against granting the association standing.
Daryn Arai, planning consultant for Black Sand Beach, said allowing the petition to be reheard would raise some questions about due process.
“The county, the parties — they all moved forward after that meeting (in May),” Arai said. “The applicant has been operating in good faith.”
Regardless of whether the commission grants the association’s petition this week, the Punalu‘u Village project remains stalled as two other contested cases — filed by the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity and a hui of Ka‘u residents called ‘Iewe Hanau o Ka ‘Aina — go forward.
Arai said a mediation session between those groups and Black Sand Beach was held earlier this month, but ended inconclusively. With all parties at an impasse, he said, the matter will go before a hearing officer, although no specific dates have been determined.
Representatives of the Association of Apartment Owners of Colony 1 at Sea Mountain did not respond to requests for comment in time for this story.
The Windward Planning Commission’s hearing will take place 9 a.m. Thursday.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
