KAHULUI >> A newly released draft environmental review of a proposed $54 million, 200-room hotel adjacent to Kahului Airport that would cater to business travelers anticipates few negative impacts but comes amid impassioned debate on Maui about over- tourism.
The proposed Kanaha Hotel would be built by R.D. Olson Development on 5.2 acres of vacant land in the Maui Business Park II, according to a draft environmental impact statement published Tuesday by the state Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, triggering a 45-day public comment period. The Newport Beach, Calif., developer also built the Courtyard by Marriott Kahului, which opened in 2012 down the street from where the new project would be located, if approved.
The Wailuku-Kahului area is the island’s civic, commercial, health care and transportation core, yet aside from the Marriott property and the much older Maui Beach Hotel and Maui Seaside Hotel at Kahului Harbor, there are limited options for nonleisure travelers outside of the resort areas in West and South Maui.
The draft EIS for Kanaha Hotel, previously called Windward Hotel, acknowledges community concerns over tourism’s effects on local lifestyles, traffic and natural and cultural resources, and emphasizes the property is designed primarily for business travelers and that only “a small percentage of guests are anticipated to be leisure travelers.”
According to the document, the project is consistent with desired uses for the airport district and would provide significant economic benefits. By providing lodging to support business and commercial activities in the central region, the report said, the hotel would further Maui’s long-stated goal of diversifying the island’s economy while cutting into demand for unlicensed vacation rentals.
And the hotel could reduce the number of cars on Maui’s roadways between Kahului Airport and the resort areas, since business travelers would be able to stay in the central area, closer to where they are doing business, the draft EIS said.
The proposed Kanaha Hotel also would provide convenient lodging for airline crews, military personnel, youth sports teams and kamaaina who are visiting family, the report noted.
The Kahului hotel, and other pending projects on Maui, could face a major roadblock if Maui County pushes “pause” on new hotel construction and expansion. Mayor Michael Victorino vetoed a moratorium on building permits for visitor lodging in South and West Maui that was approved by the County Council in July. Earlier this month, however, the Council’s Planning and Sustainable Land Use Committee approved a new proposal for an islandwide moratorium on new transient accommodation units for two years or until the Council can enact the recommendations of a tourism management investigative panel, whichever is sooner.
The measure still needs full Council approval.
The draft EIS describes Kanaha Hotel as in the midlevel price range of $251 to $500 per night. The property would have 80 extended-stay guest rooms, each with a kitchenette but no oven, and 120 standard guest rooms spread among buildings one, two and four stories in height. Features include a lobby, lounge, a dining area serving breakfast in the morning and pupu during the day and evening, a sundry store, meeting rooms, business center, laundry, fitness center, swimming pool with spa and barbecue area.
“The features and amenities are limited as the hotel is designed to accommodate the business traveler and not the leisure traveler,” the report said.
If the project stays on track, construction would start in 2023 with the aim of a 2025 opening.
The proposed hotel would have no significant effect on the environment and a negligible contribution to greenhouse gas emissions in the state, according to a climate change assessment prepared for the draft EIS.
Construction and operation of the hotel will incorporate “green” building methods and energy- efficient design, including photovoltaic solar panels; a light-colored roofing membrane that reflects solar energy and heat; window tinting to minimize ultraviolet and infrared light penetration; low-flow plumbing fixtures and fittings; high- efficiency cooling systems; and electric vehicle charging stations.
Because the hotel would be built on land that was once part of a sugar cane plantation dating back to the 19th century, the draft EIS states the project is unlikely to have significant effects on cultural resources or practices.
Among the approvals needed for the project to proceed are a Wailuku- Kahului Community Plan amendment and county zoning change from light industrial to hotel, and a special management area use permit. Additionally, the developer is proposing to amend the community plan’s definition of “hotel” to allow kitchens in individual units.
PROPOSED KANAHA HOTEL
Public comments on the draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Kanaha Hotel in Kahului are due Jan. 7. Send comments to:
>> Land Use Commission: Scott Derrickson, call 808-587-3921; email scott.a.derrickson@hawaii.gov; regular mail 235 S. Beretania St., Suite 406, Honolulu, HI 96804
>> R.D. Olson: 520 Newport Center Drive, Suite 600, Newport Beach, CA 92660; Anthony Wrzosek, 949-271-1100, anthony.wrzosek@rdodevelopment.com
>> Chris Hart and Partners Inc.: 220 Main St., Suite 527, Wailuku, HI 96793; Brett Davis, 808-242-1955, bdavis@chpmaui.com
Read the draft EIS at 808ne.ws/kanahahotel.
