Save Makena.org, County Counsel Member Michelle Anderson, & many from the community put up a hard fight this week against developer, Everitt Dowling. After three county counsel public hearings and many late hours, the county counsel passed through his up zoning application from agriculture to condo zoning in the Makena area. It was a sad day indeed when the county counsel voted 5 for and 3 against the development proposed by Dowling Company.
Yes folks, the mighty dollar won over preserving that pristine south Maui coastline, rich in Hawaiian culture & native plants and animals. What’s worse is that the last time a proper environmental impact study was done was in the late seventies! County counsel member, Michelle Anderson, during her long winded debates to protect Makena from development, lifted up a half empty box of papers. She explained that this was all the paperwork she could find on the surveys done on that area. I am completely shocked that the county counsel would approve this application without an updated E.I.S., infrastructure improvements to the area, built evacuation roads, waste management planning…is the county counsel truly looking out for our safety and best interest?…or just the short term employment of our construction workers, and putting many millions of dollars in the developers pocket? Why isn’t the Maui community more outraged at this? The developer hasn’t even guaranteed that the 50% affordable housing requirement will be adhered to due to his tentative Morgan Stanley backers of the project. BTW, Morgan Stanley just reported that they lost 2.3 billion in their 4th quarter!! Oh great, here comes half completed million dollar condo’s to scar Makena’s landscape forever, while they bulldozed ancient Hawaiian burial sites in the process.