A plan to replace nine holes of golf at Waikoloa Beach Resort with 900 timeshare units, a 140-unit workforce housing complex and 25 single-family home lots was advanced Wednesday by the County Council after a dispute between council members over whether asking for a list of community benefits amounts to “pay to play.”
Attempts to load Bills 112 and 115 with more requirements drew resistance from some council members, while others thought the requirements didn’t go far enough. Ultimately, the council voted 6-3 to advance the bills to a final reading, with North Kona Councilman Holeka Inaba, Kona Councilwoman Rebecca Villegas and South Kona/Ka‘u Councilwoman Maile David, the council chair, voting no.
Especially irksome for Kohala Councilman Tim Richards, the only West Hawaii council member voting for the project, was a last-minute amendment Inaba offered that would require specific additional workforce housing units: 250 after 450 timeshares have been built and a commitment that all workforce units remain affordable for 65 years.
Villegas agreed with the proposal.
“We have a vast need for workforce housing and the Waikoloa development area is a key hub for that workforce,” she said.
Developers couldn’t immediately respond to the proposal, as they hadn’t yet seen it, said Waikoloa Land Co. Vice President John Plunkett. He said the property is zoned for 140 workforce housing units and the company could be constrained from building more.
“I can’t sit here right now and say 250 works,” Plunkett said.
Inaba eventually withdrew the amendment, saying he will likely try again at the second and final reading next month, but not before incurring Richards’ wrath.
“I’m a little shocked that they haven’t seen this amendment at all. … It feels to me like we’re moving the goalpost and I don’t like it,” Richards said. “The fact that we’re dropping this at not even the 11th hour but 11 hour and 59 minutes … I find this very distasteful.”
Villegas and Inaba tried to postpone the vote on the project until April 6 to give everyone a chance to work through a series of amendments. She said there’s a lot more room for investment in the community, and she wanted more time to work toward a more equitable compromise. The vote to postpone failed by the same 6-3 margin.
“You guys have been working on this for decades now,” Villegas said. “I ‘can’t imagine another few months will make it or break it.”
Several council members praised the developers and their consultant, Sidney Fuke, for working with the council and the community to address their requests.
“I support this project,” said Hilo Councilwoman Sue Lee Loy. “I think the applicants have demonstrated their willingness to listen. … I’m getting concerned we’re going too far with amendments. … We’re in a process.”
Hilo Councilman Aaron Chung agreed.
“I’m very, very concerned how things are going.,” Chung said. “This isn’t sitting well with me, especially with an outfit that is really bending over backwards trying to address the concerns of this body.”
An amendment agreed upon by the developers and proposed by Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz also met resistance, this time from David.
She didn’t want to see codified into the zoning ordinance the developers’ pledge to contribute 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 support the county’s affordable housing, potable water availability or tourism management initiative.
David said she appreciated the gesture, but she felt it would set a bad precedent to “open the door by including contributions of finances by an applicant …. with money from the outside being part of a legal application process.”
Kierkiewicz said she understood.
“You don’t want to set a precedent where you can essentially buy your zoning,” she said.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.