Reproduced with the permission of the Lahaina News, 8/14/97:
Welcome to Point--Counter Point, our new feature which gives people a chance to sound off about issues on Maui which affect everyone. Even though we live in the Aloha state, we all have different views on the many issues facing our island and our state. This forum will provide a neutrel place to air their views in their own words without editing of any kind. The opinions expressed in this commentary area are the sole opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the staff or owners of the Lahaina News.
Commentary by Janis D. Casco
How do we sustain tourism and family living in West Maui?
Maui has suffered a 4 percent drop in occupancy for the first quarter of 1997 as compared to '96, a period which history tells us should be the highest occupancy quarter of the year. We have suffered depressed occupancies since the late 1980s.
Maui has fared better than other islands and recently is showing some pick-up from displaced Oahu occupancies as is the Big Island. Why? Because our visitors pay top dollar to come to the beautiful Hawaii they dream about.
West Maui's natural assets act as a magnet for tourism. Lucky us. Our beautiful beaches, historic Lahaina town, green open spaces and culturally rich aina are so unlike the Waikiki many long-time visitors now bypass.
North Beach is the last open space left in Kaanapali. This stretch of beach has attracted many first-time visitors to the Kaanapali area, simply because this was the only place where they could actually get to the beach! If we pave this last piece of natural beauty over, the action can never be reversed.
To tally up how many tax dollars this land can bring in or how many one-time construction jobs it can create, in now way can compensate our visitors or our residents for incalculable losses we would suffer long-term.
There is no guarantee that gross excise and transient accommodations taxes potentially generated by development would come back to Maui.
Honoapi'ilani Highway in the Kaanapali area is already choked, and Hanakao'o (Canoe) Beach and Wahikuli parks bulge dangerously with parked cars during the canoe regatta season. Only one rest room services over 1500 attendees at canoe racing events at Canoe Beach. There is no room for a canoe hale badly needed to safely house the three West Side canoe clubs' assets.
Plans are afoot to realign Honoapi'ilani Highway in the area of Canoe Beach, which would expand the park somewhat and offer a few more parking spaces. Although nice, these plans cannot provide the type of park space necessary to perpetuate the Hawaiian canoe racing sport and host these events on the West Side, which attracts residents and visitors alike.
The only logical space left is North Beach. Only here could we fit the recreational space needed and sufficient public parking. At least 300 spaces are needed to host the State Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association finals safely. We can expect at least 3,000 people to attend this event in 1999.
West Maui desperately needs North Beach for:
· The beautiful open space it affords;
· The natural drainage basin and wetlands sustaining wildlife;
· Historical significance of native Hawaiian settlements;
· The respite it offers visitors and residents;
· The potential recreational area it can offer to help perpetuate Hawaiian canoe racing and cultural preservation.
Imagine North Beach preserved as a grassy recreational site with pockets of wetlands and native species -- significant historical sites clearly marked, parking and restroom facilities adequate to accommodate Hawaiian canoe racing events.
If we don't save North Beach now, where can we hold our regatta in future years? What will we do to perpetuate this sport and provide a place for our families and children to play?
We need to find a way to preserve North Beach and fairly compensate the owners of these parcels. Doing so will enhance the value of Kaanapali Beach properties by helping to assure happy guests and maximum occupancies. There is no dollar figure that can be placed on the value of perpetuation of cultural sports, historical sites, the protection of wildlife, and the quality of life an adequate park facility can can offer.
The following editorial was written last week in favor of devloping North Beach
Chris Kanazawa, president of Amfac Maui's real estate development division, readily admits he is not a patient man. "So you can understand my anticipation of this project -- Kaanapali's first new visitor project in more than 10 years." The project he's talking about is Ka'anapali Ocean Resort, a 280-unit time share development to be located on 14.1 acres in the North Beach subdivision.
Kanazawa feels it is vital for Kaanapali to maintain its competitive edge in Hawaii's visitor industry. "We simply must maintain a state-of-the-art position in new inventory and product for the visitor market," he says. "Every good business person is aware that in the keenly competitive visitor industry, especially with Maui's economy so dependent upon tourism, we cannot rest on our laurels as the world's first destination resort. We must continue to be innovative. Things change, the visitor market is fickle, and the competition is hard at work trying to attract our market share. We need to retain the charm that is Maui, but we also have to be creative in such matters as new visitor offerings. The 96-acre North Beach area, like the existing South Beach resort area, has been zoned for hotel development since the mid 1960s. It's time to get on with it -- time to show the visitor market that Kaanapali has more than ever to offer -- while giving our own local economy a much needed boost.
Not everyone agrees. There has been considerable opposition from those who feel the North Beach area should be turned into a park for local residents, and there are those who just oppose development in general.
Teney Takahashi, senior vice president at Amfac Maui, addresses this position. "First of all, we've tried to be responsive to public input... the buildings (three 6-story structures) will occupy just 20 percent of the site's 14.1 acres, verses the 30 percent allowed. Views to the ocean will be retained, a shoreline walkway will improve public access, and off-shore marine life or wetlands will not be disturbed.
"Social and environmental concerns are part of our history on Maui. Those who took part in the 1983 community plan know that the destination resorts at Kaanapali, Wailea and Kapalua always were intended to minimize intrusion of visitors upon residential lifestyles, and were planned to build the necessary infrastructure efficiently," points out Takahashi, who was one of the 1983 Citizen Advisory Committee members. "Every good planner tries to separate business from residential uses to avoid conflicting issues and interests. The tourist industry is no different."
Takahashi also believes Ka'anapali Ocean Resort will provide a positive boost for Maui's economy. "Construction jobs will be created for as many as 200 workers with up to $9.9 million in annual salaries. That's 10 percent of Maui's annual construction employment base," he notes. "Overall, more than $100 million in construction revenues will be realized. In addition, at least 220 long-term jobs will be provided within the finished project at approximately $7 million in annual salaries."
And what about the "SLAPP" suit North Beach landowners have filed against the Hale Ka'anapali condominium association?
"This suit," says Takahashi, "is about a breach of contract, pure and simple. Hale Ka'anapali contracted with us that there would be no intervention or opposition toward the North Beach development, in return for design concessions from us. We have lived up to the agreement. They have not. In fact, we were attempting to meet with their board to address their concerns about our initial project when they announced their intent to intervene. We have met with another association that also signed the same agreement but asked for a meeting so we could answer their questions. We also sponsored a community meeting in October to encourage public input. For anyone to claim that we are filing suit to suppress community input is totally ridiculous."
Amfac also has been asked "Why a time share project," when time share sales have been troublesome on Front Street.
Kanazawa says certain sales operations will continue to be problematic unless developers directly supervise salespeople and care enough to exercise firm control over them. "You don't hear complaints about companies such as Marriott," he says, "because they value their reputation. We feel the same way, and are motivated to deal with this problem. For starters, we intend to hire and control our own sales people. Time sharing is the fastest-growing segment of the visitor industry, and done properly, can be a valuable economic asset. Just about every major hotel chain represented in Kaanapali is entering this business, and we must, too, in order to remain competitive. Most people here don't realize the strength of our competition in Mexico and the Caribbean, and from cruise ships. This is where much of the 'repeat visitor' business we used to be able to count on is now going. As the Convention and Visitor's Bureau repeatedly points out, we cannot afford to lag in the diversification and quality of accommodations we offer or conduct our business in any but the most reputable manner."
How does Amfac respond to those who would prefer a park on the proposed site?
"Over the years," says Takahashi, "we've reviewed proposals for everything from theme parks to driving ranges and residential housing. We feel that the highest and best use of North Beach is visitor accommodations. Towards this we've received approvals in the community plans and in the state tourism plan. I should also point out that the development of North Beach includes 23 acres of park space, including construction. This encompasses onsite parks such as Kahekili park, as well as an offsite park in Wainee for sports activities.
"We intend to develop Ka'anapali Ocean Resort in a responsible and environmentally sensitive manner, but we also have a major commitment to provide a better quality of life for our employees and try to get more vitality into Maui's economy. We believe the most effective way to do this is to provide more jobs, not only parks," Takahashi says.
"We are grateful that the mayor recognizes this point in her concept of acquiring a portion of North Beach for use as a park. She has been respectful of our property rights while seeking a 'win-win' solution. She is addressing this in a most creative manner, and we remain open-minded to her proposal," says Kanazawa.
When asked why Amfac feels the community should support the Ka'anapali Ocean Resort project, both Takahashi and Kanazawa say "We need it."
"The community, Amfac, Kaanapali, Maui and the visitor industry -- we all need it," says Kanazawa.
Takahashi adds, "tourism is over half of Maui's economic base, and our only hope for the many jobs we need in the foreseeable future -- a future that Hawaii's economists all agree will not be growing by any meaningful degree for the remainder of this decade. The employment and revenues that will be generated by this project are vital. It's also a 'must do' project for a real estate company such as Amfac after six years of recession, and we will approach it with an appropriate level of commitment. It's vital to our survival."
Psy 412 Miami University. Last revised: Friday, April 19, 2002 at 00:55:50. This document has been accessed 327 times since July 15, 1997. Comments & Questions to R. Sherman .