Maui

The state Land Use Commission has accepted the environmental impact statement for a proposed 1,433-unit residential development in central Maui.

The planned 1,576-acre Waikapu Country Town site includes a commercial center, a 36-acre community park and 50 acres of bikeways, trails and open space, said developer Michael Atherton, head of Waikapu Properties LLC.

Acceptance of the EIS during a hearing Wednesday on Maui cleared the way for a Land Use Commission hearing on reclassifying some 485 acres within the project from agricultural to rural and urban use.

“We hope to do that within the next 90 days,” Atherton said.

The proposed project then goes to the Maui County Planning Commission for further review and to the Maui County Council for project district amendments and the rezoning of some lands.

Lucienne de Naie, spokeswoman for environmental group Maui Tomorrow Foundation, said the EIS was well done, evaluating the effect of development upon resources.

Atherton said the development is required by county ordinance to set aside 25 percent of the total number of units for workforce housing.

Atherton, owner of the adjacent Maui Tropical Plantation, said plans are to develop a sewage treatment plant that recycles the wastewater into water for irrigating farmlands. The proposal calls for developing the project in two 5-year phases.

Of the 1,576 acres owned fee simple by various entities, about 1,077 will remain in agriculture, according to the company’s report.