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Residents and professional association members have spoken out over a resort’s expansion plans that would make it the second-largest hotel on Maui, a report said.
Several residents attended a Maui Planning Commission meeting Tuesday to speak against the expansion of the Grand Wailea Maui, The Maui News reported Thursday.
Others at the meeting voiced support, including members of a lodging association and the carpenters union.
The 776-room resort on 36.6 acres along Wailea Alanui Drive plans to add another 224 rooms, including up to 40 bungalow units. The proposal also calls for construction of new pools, a parking garage expansion, removal of a chapel and other renovations.
The project’s cost is estimated at $91.5 million over five years.
Maui already exceeds the recommended 3-to-1 resident-to-visitor ratio, said resident Dick Mayer.
“We do not need any more hotel rooms on this island; we need to control it,” he said.
Lisa Paulson, executive director of the Maui Hotel and Lodging Association, said the 30-year-old resort is “due for a refresh.”