Ka‘ū News Briefs, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022

Jeanné Kapela, member of the state House of Representatives sent out a message on Sunday about her
opposition to the luxury residential community planned for Opihihale, just north of Miloli'i. Photo from Kapela

OPPOSITION TO THE OPIHIHALE LUXURY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT proposal in South Kona has come from Jeanné Kapela who represents the area and parts of Ka'u in the state House of Representatives. Kapela headlined her statement on Sunday with "Kona is Not for Sale." She said, "Recently, a company called Kona Estates Fund II, LLC has been promoting what they refer to as an investment opportunity in The Kona Estates at Opihihale, a 324-acre luxury oceanfront project on the Kona Coast.
    "When I first heard about the project, I was shocked. Its developers claim that they are currently taking minimum pledges of at least $100,000 in the hopes of raising $20 million to build luxury estates for the wealthy along West Hawai'i's iconic and historic shorelines.
    "Kona Estates Fund II, LLC says that they are focused on sustainability, working with the community, and embracing the value of aloha. Yet, their project, at its core, shows no aloha for Hawai'i's people, who are facing a housing crisis," wrote Kapela.

A photo used on investinkona.com to encourage investment
 in the resort living development project proposed at Opihihale.

   "According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's 2022 Out of Reach report, the median wage needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment on Hawai'i Island without being cost burdened is $29.44/hour. The annual income required to afford a two-bedroom apartment is at least $61,240/year.
    "We do not need more luxury properties on the Kona Coast. We need housing that is affordable for local residents. Thankfully, those who are operating the Kona Estates Fund II, LLC development scheme have not applied for many of the necessary permits, giving us ample time to make our voices heard.
    "I am firmly opposed to any attempt to commodify our ʻāina for rich nonresident investors, who care little about the sustainability of our islands. If Kona Estates Fund II, LLC wants to show respect for the spirit of aloha, they will recognize that their project undermines the well-being of Hawai'i's people. As your representative, I will fight to put people before profit, always."
See the developers' online presentation with drone footage of the land at https://investinkona.com/the-project-location/.
    Kapela currently represents the state House of Representatives district from Honu'apo into Kona and is running in the General Election Nov. 8, is for the reconfigured district spanning from Volcano into South Kona. 
    Hawai'i Public Radio writer Ku'uwehi Hiraishi recently covered the Opihihale story. She wrote:                

A photo used on investinkona.com to encourage investment
 in the resort living development project proposed at Opihihale.

  "Community opposition is growing over concerns that the development doesn’t align with county plans, current zoning, or the vision of the surrounding local community. Hawaiʻi County Council Chair Maile David, who represents Ka'u and the Opihihale area, says she’s been receiving inquiries from constituents concerned over the proposed development. "It just took us, took me by surprise," David told Hiraishi. "When I started getting these emails saying they were going to develop Opihihale. And I said, ʻWhat? Who said so?'" Hiraishi wrote that David says she "is concerned the project doesn’t fit the community." Hiraishi's story noted that Opihihale land along Māmalahoa Highway at mile marker 93 was bought in 2018 by Beverly Hills-based Kona Development Partners. Jeff Darrow, deputy planning director for
Hawaiʻi County, told HPR that his department has not received any permit applications for the project.
    "We know as much as you do in the sense that we've been informed about this project mainly through complaints," says Darrow. "We’ve received a number of calls relating to a website called investinkona.com. It’s a website that’s asking for donations or investments in this project. Right now it’s asking for donations of $100,000 or more.
    "From a planning standpoint, they would have to go through a change of zone, and then they would also have to go through a special permit for this lodge operation," says Darrow. "A big part of being able to get approved for a rezoning requires a unit of water for each proposed lot or unit. My understanding is there is no county water available in that area." Darrow also told HPR that the Opihihale developers would need approvals from Planning Department, Leeward Planning Commission, and Hawaiʻi County Council to proceed.

A photo used on investinkona.com to encourage investment
 in the resort living development project proposed at Opihihale.

    "If you look at our Community Development Plans, that whole area in the South Kona area has been identified as areas worth preserving — left in agriculture and left in open space," says Darrow. "And so that makes the process to apply for something like this… that’s a huge hurdle." He noted that soliciting investors is nothing new to development projects of this size and that public hearings would be triggered once the developers seek approvals.
    "When the Planning Department receives an application and schedules a hearing date before the Leeward Planning Commission, at that time, there will be a public hearing," Darrow told HPR. "Additionally, once the application goes to the Hawaiʻi County Council, there will be other opportunities for public hearings."
    Listen to the Hawai'i Public Radio story at https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/local-news/2022-08-31/investor-website-for-potential-luxury-development-in-opihihale-sparks-community-concerns?fbclid=IwAR0feSSnljPYL3BI2YCZ6R6X1NSR6PNzloe1UycrEqMZ2L5GUtIdcRoE6Bg.
    Read the Aug. 10 story on the proposed development in The Ka'u Calendar News Briefs at http://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022_08_10_archive.html and the Aug. 12 story with a video of the bulldozer at http://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022_08_12_archive.html.
    Read the cover story on Opihihale in the September edition of The Ka'u Calendar at www.kaucalendar.com and in print.

  A photo used on investinkona.com to encourage investment in the resort living development project proposed at Opihihale.

THE MANAGERS OF THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AT OPIHIHALE are presented on the Kona Estates developers' website as bringing resort real estate experience to the project:

Andrew Rowland

    L.M. Pete Rowland, President/Principal/Manager has "a vast amount of experience throughout the resort, resort real estate, and destination real estate sector. During his forty-year career of development, management, sales, and marketing; he has created over $1B in resort and resort real estate sales activity. Projects include wholly owned properties and corporate clients such as Holiday Inn, Cendant, NASCAR, Hellman’s, Kahn’s, Block Pharmaceuticals, Jackson-Hewitt, Cape Canaveral Cruise Lines, Riviera Management, Sahara Management, Sol Melia Hotel Group, Ronnie Kovach Outdoor Expeditions, Westin, and Nanuku Auberge Resort Fiji."
   The website for Kona Development Partners also says that Pete Rowland "has been an innovator in the resort and resort real estate industry through its evolution and guided projects through various economic cycles and trends, is strongly positioned to lead Kona Development Partners and its subsidiaries through

A photo used on investinkona.com to encourage investment
 in the resort living development project proposed at Opihihale.

the investment period The Kona Estates project."
    The site also introduces VP and Principle Manager Andrew Rowland, saying he has "eighteen years of professional experience in the resort marketing, sales, management, and development sectors. Andrew has also consulted on the formation of equity fund partnerships; giving him a keen understanding of both individual investors and the equity fund as a whole.
    "Most recently, Andrew developed and executed marketing programs for the client, Nanuku Auberge Resort Fiji. He specialized in marketing luxury residential-resort properties and estates to investors and affluent clientele by blending traditional and digital-age marketing into one unique program. Andrew will draw on his experience as a past owner/general manager of a full-service hotel property, an investment fund consultant, and a luxury marketing director to execute his duties as a principal of Kona Development Partners and its subsidiaries."  See more on the developers' presentation at www.investinkona.com.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at wwwkaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/04/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.html.

The Trojan Cross Country team from Volcano School of the Arts & Sciences and Kaʻū High is comprised of Darcie Kanehailua, Cheska Aurelio, Coach David Wells, Cody Rasmussen and Alden Wells. Photo from Trojans Cross Country

The 2022 TROJAN CROSS COUNTRY TEAM has completed five cross country meets at different schools all over the island, with three remaining.  The team is comprised of Volcano School of the Arts & Sciences students Darcie Kanehailua, Cheska Aurelio and Alden Wells and Kaʻū High student Cody Rasmussen.
    Coach David Wells, who teaches at Volcano, said, "Athletes have steadily improved and three have qualified for the Big Island Invitational meet where the top 30 runners qualify to the state tournament to be held in Kaua'i in late October."
    Upcoming Cross Country meets will be at Waiki'i Ranch on Saturday, Oct. 1, beginning at 9 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Big Island Interscholastic Federation Championships at Kamehameha School at 9 a.m. and on Saturday, Oct. 29 at the state championships on Kaua'i.

KAʻŪ TROJAN GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TAKES ON PAHOA with a home game on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at the Robert E Herkes Kaʻū District Gym. Start time is 5 p.m. for JV, followed by Varsity.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at wwwkaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/04/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.html.

 

See September issue of The Kaʻū Calendar
at www.kaucalendar.com, and in the
mail - Volcano, Kaʻū to South Kona.