This island needs a definite reset, a serious cognizant conversation about how we want to live and if we plan to benefit future generations. We must rethink what we require from development that presses hard on our infrastructure and precious water resources. Are we just “throwing in the towel” on economic diversification and embracing total tourism time and time again?
On Feb. 8, I sat through a five-hour County Council Planning Committee Meeting for bills 112 and 115. The meeting was about Waikoloa Land Company’s “Kumu Hou,” a new development project presented as a plan to improve the master-planned Waikoloa resort node on the ocean side. The proposal includes 1,164 timeshare units (900 newly planned timeshare units and 264 previously approved Hilton Grand timeshare units), plus new amenities including a community center, retail space, operation center and parking — only to support the timeshare units (not the public), plus a “reimagined 27 hole golf experience, modern clubhouse and driving range, 25 multimillion dollar residential lots, a 3-acre park and 142 workforce rental housing units within the Kohala coast resort footprint.”
Honestly, the size of the proposed timeshare is stunning. Hawaii is full of timeshares, but they are generally smaller in size, anywhere from 45 units to 300. A timeshare of 1,164 units is what they build in Orlando to support Disney resorts. Timeshares are one of the most intensive resort uses, each timeshare can typically sell 52 slots per unit, so theoretically a timeshare of 1,164 units could be sold to 60,528 individuals (i.e., 52 weeks x 1,164). So many units can easily accommodate 4,500 or more individuals per week. Whether timeshares are based on a fixed week, floating week or points, they are an intensive use of water, roads, trash, sewage, amenities, and require constant maintenance and cleaning. Timeshares exponentially increase road traffic as tourists come and go and a myriad of people drive back-and-forth to work to maintain, sell, service or clean these units. Timeshares do not create a sense of community.
“Kumu Hou” was presented as basically a “done deal” due to the fact that Waikoloa Land Company developed a good portion of the Waikoloa Beach Resort node and traded 300 acres to the county as its affordable housing component almost 40 years ago. Therefore, they considered their affordable housing component as met even though it’s 40 years later. According to their website, they have been “responsible stewards“ of 31,000 acres for 40 years.
The 142 proposed workforce units is a good beginning but we know that number is not enough. At the meeting, people testified they slept in their cars because of long commutes to work at the existing resorts. Adding 1,164 timeshare units will only make it worse. Workforce housing is a real need, but it’s exactly what it says it is: workforce housing is destined to be rental housing for 65 years. Are these one, two or three bedrooms? And caps on rents and utilities were unclear. The satisfactory part is that Stanford Carr is to build the workforce housing.
Water and sewage are other issues. According to “Kumu Hou,” they have “thoughtfully planned water usage, reducing brackish water withdrawls from the Anaeho’omalu aquifer while seeking landscape solutions to offset freshwater needs from the Waimea aquifer.” My understanding is that this project would take a minimum additional 500,000 gallons from the Waimea aquifer each day. Note that an average pumping of nearly 13,000,000 gallons per day is already occurring at this aquifer that has a sustainable yield of only 16,000,000 gallons per day. This doesn’t include additional entitled units who would further draw from this aquifer. How is that in the public interest?
Whether “Kumu Hou” has entitled units is not the real question. The question, at this time, is timeshare the right use? Is it necessary to have so many timeshares? How will this effect the hotels this coast supports? During economic downturns, many hotels suffered. How much can our infrastructure take? It’s no secret that the Kona and Hilo Sewage system is falling apart and already dumping sewage in the ocean, we truck trash on overused roads from Hilo to Kona filling landfills with no expanded recycling plan, we have ambulances that often don’t have paramedics, we have simultaneous fires that can’t be serviced simultaneously because we don’t have enough trucks, our hospitals during the pandemic were crowded and medical staff on this island are always overworked. How much more can we take?
The testimony provided was interesting. The Chamber of Commerce supported the project with no reservations. Seriously? The chamber may support business, but sadly the chamber forgot that business is supported by workers and they need a place to live. Some 142 workforce units won’t even support existing resort needs. Restaurants who testified in favor of the project mention workforce housing, these same restaurants have waiting lines every night at their restaurants, they don’t need more tourists, they need more housing for employees. And 3 acres for a park? Seriously? In all 31,000 acres of this development over 40 years (or any place on this island), how can Hawaii Island continuously bill themselves as the granddaddy of all triathlons and not even have a lengthy bike path anywhere?
I have lived here over 43 years, my 25-year-old daughter was born and raised here, she reminded me that parks have virtually not changed since she was born. She ran cross country and played soccer and besides her school in Waimea, Hilo was the only other place that could accommodate a 3.1-mile cross country course. Think about that. Konawaena still cannot host an cross country meet because we as a county have not provided for them in all these years. Private individuals used their own equipment at night to fill in the holes at the Old A soccer field so kids wouldn’t get injured. Volunteers and private money rebuilt Higashihara Park, and these developers want to dangle a 3-acre park in the middle of a resort node? It’s not good enough. Have these developers even thought to ask what we as a community want? They had 31,000 acres to do it in. How about a long bike path (not impeded by traffic), affordable housing, facilities for the community, not just for the resort users.
We are not Ohio or North Dakota, we are Hawaii. We do not need to attract developers, we are the attraction and we should be asking for what we are worth. Don’t dangle some 3-acre park and a $50 million fund that you control when you are worth billions. Don’t expect to get our water without lots of affordable housing and amenities for the community, not just your golf course that most people who live here won’t be able to afford. As a broker who has sold homes to everyone, from first time buyers to the rich and famous, I am not anti-development but I am not for development at all cost no matter how beautifully it is laid out.
Council and planning, let’s get real and take a deep breath … let’s have a deeper, cognizant conversation that identifies more areas for affordable housing, workforce housing as well as buildings that can be repurposed for the homeless. Let’s seriously look at the water this project will use, the traffic it will create, and the infrastructure mess. Let’s understand the amount of needed workforce housing and increase it exponentially. All these things should be done with no green lights or permits until they are understood. There is another meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 22. Please send an email by noon on Feb. 21 asking that this project be deferred to: counciltestimony@ hawaiicounty.gov. If you want to testify via Zoom: relley.araceley@hawaiicounty.gov or call (808) 961-8255.
Kristi Van Pernis is a resident of North Kona.
