Image of the proposed development at Punaluʻu, from planning department documents

(BIVN) – The Windward Planning Commission is meeting on Monday, May 6th, to again take-up the controversial Punaluʻu Village Special Management Area Use Permit application. Commissioners could take action on three petitions for standing in a contested case hearing.

The three organizations that are requesting a contested case hearing are the Association of Apartment Owners of Colony 1 at Sea Mountain, the Center for Biological Diversity, and ‘Iewe Hanau o Ka ‘Āina.

“Colony I represents a mixed used development of 76 individual properties which are completely encircled by the applicant’s holdings,” wrote the Board of Directors of Colony 1 at Sea Mountain in their petition for standing. “Colony I is uniquely affected by the proposed development in many ways, but the primary concerns we wish to bring forward are related to the dilapidated state of the Public Water System, Fire Suppression System, and Wastewater System.”

The Center for Biological Diversity in its petition said that “the Center has members with direct interests in the species, habitat, and environment at Punaluʻu that will be injured by the proposed development.” The Center noted that member Elsa KalaniKauleleiaiwi Dedman has Kuleana land at Punaluʻu, where her ʻohana have resided for at least eight generations. The Dedman Kuleana land is “fully surrounded by the proposed development.”

Image of the proposed development at Punaluʻu, from planning department documents

ʻIewe Hanau o Ka ʻAina is an unincorporated hui of Kaʻū residents “who desire to protect the cultural practices, natural resources, and stunning beauty of Punaluʻu,” their petition for standing explains. “Not only would ʻIewe Hanau o Ka ʻAina and its members be adversely affected by the proposed project, but they enjoy a constitutional right to a contested case hearing. Their constitutionally-protected cultural practices would be jeopardized.”

Black Sand Beach LLC is applying for a SMA use permit to allow for the development of a residential and commercial community at the treasured Punaluʻu beach in Kaʻū. The development will consist of approximately 225 residential and short stay units, a village and wellness center, retail uses, and the rehabilitation and use of golf courses. The project also proposes to dedicate a 147 acres portion of the coastline as a conservation area.

The last time the Windward Planning Commission met to discuss the Punaluʻu project proposal, the hearing was flooded by concerned Kaʻū residents, many of whom oppose the development. The hearing went on for hours and no decisions were made.