Kapu On Kapukapu Development! 

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"Aliʻi Development LLC" represented by Land Planning Hawaii (LPH) wants to change zoning on 11 acres TMK (3)7-7-008:009 from AG-5a (agriculturally zoned land with 1 house per 5 acres) to RS-7.5 (residential 7500-foot lots) and destroy the wall on Kapukapu Street.  They want to build or flip the plans and land for 45 new high-end houses.

Reasons to oppose this zoning change and this development include:

• Out-of-State Speculative Investors
• Planning Director Conflict of Interest
• Archaeological and Cultural Importance
• Agricultural Zoning
• Tsunami Zone
• Cul-de-Sac Development
• Water Supply
• Drought
• Sewage Hookup / Wastewater Treatment
• Rainwater / Landscaping Runoff
• Kahalu'u Bay and Ocean Health
• Wildlife
• Traffic Impact – Neighborhood
• Traffic Impact – Community
• Impact of Multi-Year Construction on Quiet Neighborhoods
• Impact of Multi-Year Construction on Remote Working
• Housing Inappropriate for Local Needs
 

Further Information:

Out-Of-State Speculative Investors

• Purchased ag land in 2005, tried to develop 2010, tried to sell 2015, back again 2022.
• 90% owned by Alaska, Nebraska, and Texas investors, 10% owned by Kona realtor.
 

Conflict of Interest

• Investor group was previously represented by County Planning Director Zendo Kern's company and is now represented by LPH—the successor company with the same address and phone number and registered to Kern's sister.

Archaeological and Cultural Importance

• Multiple and significant archaeological sites and burials are located on the parcel.
• Archeological sites are spread across multiple adjacent parcels. Developments such as this obliterate archaeological and cultural heritage one project at a time.
• Plan will destroy an historic stone wall that is an ancient ahupuaʻa boundary.
 

Agricultural Zoning

• Continuing piecemeal conversion of Ag to residential zoning results in fewer opportunities for food security locally and is bad environmental policy globally.
• Land has historical agricultural significance, evidenced by nearby heiau for sweet potato.
• Small farms are an important and growing source for Hawaiʻi's local food production.
 

Adjacent Tsunami  Zone

• Cul-de-sac development borders the tsunami evacuation zone, with only one way in and one way out through Kapukapu Street.
 

Cul-de-Sac Development

• Cul-de-sacs are specifically discouraged in the KCDP for multiple reasons, including public safety and emergency access: ambulance, police, fire, lava flow, and tsunami.
 

Water Supply

• Neighbors already experience low water pressure even at lower elevations.
• This area of Kona is under a 10% voluntary reduction in water usage (25% elsewhere).
 

Drought

• Kona and all Hawaiʻi faces current and predicted increasing drought conditions; climate change causes greater weather uncertainty, increasing drought risk.
 

Sewage Hookup / Wastewater Treatment

• It is obvious they intend to dig up and use Kapukapu Street, even though Aliʻi Heights infrastructure is not designed for additional capacity. (Same is true for all utilities.)
• Kealakehe sewage treatment plant is already OVER capacity if all current homes were hooked up, as required by law. The only reason there is capacity today is because all current homes are not yet connected.

 

Rainwater / Landscaping Runoff

• Continuing to “hardscape,” i.e., pave over open and agricultural lands will cause additional runoff and pollution, harming coral reefs and damaging the ocean.

 

Kahalu’u Bay and Ocean Health

• Kahaluʻu Bay is in this area’s watershed, is already stressed, and will be further affected by increased runoff and environmental impacts.
• Kahaluʻu Bay is scientifically identified as “critical to the ocean’s health,” and a “critical habitat,” by the international marine conservation group Mission Blue. It can not be further stressed.

Wild life

• Area is home to, and hunting grounds for, the endangered Pueo and Hoary Bats, and many other forms of valued permanent and migratory wildlife.
• Birds and animals do not limit their territory to human map lines. Conservation must be considered on a regional, not individual parcel, basis.
• Only "native" plants are considered important in the developer plans, but all flora in the area are essential to valued local birds and animals. 
 
Traffic Impact - Neighborhood

• LPH / investor group is trying to use loopholes to evade a new traffic study. 
• Vehicles passing in front of houses on Kapukapu Street adjacent to the property will increase from about 8 per day to easily over 100 per day.
• Destruction of walkability/safety of Aliʻi Heights streets. People of all ages currently walk, push strollers, run, exercise pets, play ball and socialize in a COVID-safe manner.
• Kapukapu Street was not designed nor intended to be a primary thoroughfare, or a substitute for the much-debated Aliʻi Parkway.
 

Traffic Impact - Community

• Cumulative traffic impact of yet another subdivision in the local area is unbearable. Multiple high-end housing projects along Aliʻi Drive are both proposed and in development, and a 150+ room boutique luxury hotel is proposed at Keauhou Bay.
• Traffic study of Aliʻi Drive was done during COVID-19 restrictions, when Ironman was canceled, schools were remote, and tourism was limited. The numbers are meaningless.
 

Impact of Multi-Year Construction on Quiet Neighborhoods

• Build out of a new subdivision will be a multi-year undertaking, including ongoing transport and use of pile drivers, bulldozers, graders, and other heavy equipment. 
• Resultant noise pollution, dust, vibration, and consequent mental and emotional stress to the neighborhood residents, including kupuna and keiki, cannot be overstated. 
• Aliʻi Heights and Keauhou View Estates homes and improvements were not built to withstand years of adjacent construction.
 

Impact of Multi-Year Construction on Remote Working

• Aliʻi Heights and Keauhou View Estates residents working from home will be significantly and adversely impacted in their provision of higher education, mental health, housing, sustainable energy, architecture design, fine arts, and other services to the community.
 

Housing Inappropriate for Local Needs

• While we do not agree that this property is appropriate for development, what is needed in Kona is low- and moderate-income housing for local families (teachers, for example). The price point of this project would exclude this demographic.
 

LPH and the investors frequently cite the Kona Community Development Plan (KDCP) for presumptive justification. The KCDP is a development-oriented aspirational County document, which essentially presents a pave-it-over "urban expansion" plan for almost all of Kailua Kona, from Palamanui to Keauhou. 

          Do we really want Kona to become another Honolulu?