An array of promised community benefits was enough Tuesday to propel a Waikoloa Beach Resort timeshare project out of a County Council committee with a positive recommendation.
The project, which would replace half of one of the resort’s two golf courses with 900 timeshare units, a 140-unit workforce housing complex and 25 single-family home lots, had been stuck in the council Planning Committee as council members, hearing community concerns, sought greater developer concessions. The development would occur on 183 acres currently part of the 18-hole Kings’ Course.
Planning Committee Chairwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz praised the Waikoloa Land Co. for listening to concerns and offering solutions, something she said was “really setting the bar” on how developments will proceed in the future.
Kohala Councilman Tim Richards, whose district includes the resort, said the county was still finding its way with new practices. These things take time, he said.
“This is a new direction as far as responsible development going forward,” Richards said. “It’s a new partnership that’s exceedingly novel.”
The plan, Bills 112 and 115, made its third appearance at the committee, amended and forwarded to the council on a 7-2 vote for two more hearings. North Kona Councilman Holeka Inaba and Kona Councilwoman Rebecca Villegas voted no.
“I have COVID so our numbers are going down but it’s not like people aren’t still getting COVID here,” said Villegas, her voice raspy as she attended the meeting from her home via Zoom. “And our numbers are very fragile as it’s based on tourism. In our Western world, wealth is our goal and yet when is enough enough?”
The committee added numerous amendments agreed upon with the developer and plans to add an additional one after the wording is clarified at the next council meeting.
One amendment, requested by the Sierra Club, will have the developer donating its ownership of the portion of the Kings Highway Foot Trail that bisects the report to a state or federal agency for preservation and public use.
Another codifies the developer’s promise to transition away from potable water for irrigation, with a pledge to reduce overall potable water draws from the Waimea Aquifer System by at least 540,000 gallons per day phased in over time. That would be accomplished with more natural lava landscaping in lieu of grass and a move to native drought-tolerant species as well as those more resistant t brackish water.
Another amendment guarantees the promise of 140 workforce housing units for at least 65 years, with 60% available to those households making $18,000-$3,000 annually for a single person or $25,700-$51,360 for a family of four, which is in the 30% to 60% range of the median area income. The remaining 40% would go for families up to 120% of the AMI. The amendment also requires installation of automatic external defibrillators in certain ares as well as electric vehicle charging stations.
Those amendments passed unanimously.
The 27 holes of golf that would be left in the Kings’ Course and the Waikoloa Beach Course would remain as either golf course or open space, under an amendment that passed with one objection, by Inaba.
“We do want open space, at the same time we do need affordable housing and I remain concerned about putting a cap on all 27 holes,” Inaba said.
But Hamakua Councilwoman Heather Kimball disagreed. “It’s not just open space, something we like, it’s something that if we lose we will never get back,” Kimball said. “Once we depart from it, we can never go back.”
Another amendment was withdrawn because its language was confusing. It’s expected to show up at the council meeting. The amendment would donate 1.5% of gross sales from the first time sale of any residential unit or time share to the Waikoloa Foundation for community benefit and another 0.5% to an agency or program designated by the county to support the county’s affordable housing or tourism management initiatives.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.