The transformation of Lanai proposed by billionaire landowner Larry Ellison seems likely to be a more gradual proposition than some may have envisioned at the outset — and that’s how it should be.
The Planning Committee of the Maui County Council flashed the appropriate caution signal last week when it issued amendments to the draft of an updated Lanai Community Plan, removing the designation for a new hotel proposed for the tiny island’s eastern shore.
The panel should underscore that impulse when it takes a vote June 23 on the amended plan, followed by a final endorsement by the entire Council in August.
The new resort would have featured 100 bungalows oriented like a Hawaiian village, offering views of Maui and Molokai. That would have been a decidely marketable asset, so its deletion from the plan had to come as a disappointment to Ellison’s company, Pulama Lana‘i, even though it has not yet raised a public objection.
Additionally, the Council committee eliminated a residential subdivision of up to 50 homes proposed for a site next to the resort along with two public beach parks proposed on either side.
By themselves, neither of these projects seem to be of the scale that usually draws public opposition, but the neighbors are rightly concerned about the precedent they set.
Sol Kaho‘ohalahala, the former state lawmaker and Maui Council member, said the community had accepted Lanai’s resort development that now exists on the condition that no development on the eastern shore be allowed.
Committee Chairman Don Couch said he was persuaded when he heard residents confirm their opposition. That was a promise made to the long-term residents of Lanai, and it’s heartening to see the Council resolve to uphold that.
This draft plan represents the first revision to the island’s land-use blueprint since 1998.
The plan retains ample provisions for growing the island’s economic base in a sustainable way. Among the components:
» An expansion of Lanai City by 546 acres to accommodate new homes and businesses, including a rural subdivision in nearby Koele.
» An airport runway extension and development of the Manele resort and homes above Kaumalapau Harbor.
» Film studios, a university campus and a tennis academy with dormitory housing.
Much of this depends on the availability of potable water, and Pulama Lana‘i has proposed desalinization plants to provide the resource. That project is an entirely justifiable investment the community and planning officials should support.
On that score, the Lanai Planning Commission ought to revisit its decision to grant only a 15-year term for the desalinization plants, which seems to be an unreasonably short time constraint for such a major development.
The conflict over the desalinization plants, and over a few key elements in the development plans, may represent the end of the honeymoon period that followed Ellison’s acquisition of the island, but it shouldn’t mean the end of productive dialogue.
"Pulama Lana‘i managers have expressed their vision to the community and are interested in involving the community in these changes, while working together to protect the island’s historic, cultural and natural resources," according to the draft plan. "This is a timely opportunity that could help to diversify the island’s economy, and implement a new vision for the future of Lanai."
If anything, the standoff represents the first real test of that interest in community involvement. Let’s hope a robust discussion ensues, and yields a plan that represents a real community consensus.
