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La'au Point

From dKosopedia

Categories: Planning in Hawaii | Maui County planning

La'au Point, is the southwestern tip of the island of Molokai. Planned development at La'au is part of the Moloka'i Ranch's master plan. Moloka'i Properties, owner of Moloka'i Ranch, held more than 100 community meetings over two years in developing its master plan, making many concessions to the community:

Moloka'i Properties and its parent, Singapore-based Brierley Investments, figure to gross an estimated :$200 million from the sale of the 200 La'au lots of 1.5 to 2 acres. The money would pay for significant costs of development, and would also be used to renovate and reopen the Kaluako'i Hotel — which will create up to 100 new jobs — and to provide up to $10 million for the Molokai Land Trust. [4]

A July 31, 2005 Honolulu Star-Bulletin article, Gary Kubota reported on opposition to the Moloka'i Ranch master plan:

A 28-member volunteer land use committee, made up of residents and aided by the nonprofit Molokai Enterprise Community....
...whose members include the ranch and some of its critics, has been holding public discussions for the past 19 months to create a consensus on the master plan.
Walter Ritte Jr., a native Hawaiian and member of the committee, said he opposes the master plan because it calls for developing houses in La'au, where people fish and gather food from the sea to supplement their families' subsistence living.
"The area is much too precious to use as a housing area. ... La'au is where all our biodiversity is alive and working," Ritte said. "It allows us to keep our culture alive. It allows us to be Hawaiians. It's a big thing to allow us to give it up. That's our icebox feeding us."
Ritte said the lands offered by the ranch are "undevelopable," because there's no water for them. "I don't see any future for those lands unless a miracle happens and you can produce water," he said.
Glenn Teves, a part-time farmer, said he's worried that approving the master plan will take away water from future native Hawaiian homesteaders, including those planning to settle on more than 100 new lots at Kalamaula and additional lots in Hoolehua.
He said other homesteaders are also worried about water rights.
Teves, who works as a University of Hawaii agricultural extension agent, said two-thirds of the water from the Kualapuu reservoir is supposed to go to benefit native Hawaiian farmers and the remainder for other users.
Nicholas said under its plan, the ranch has offered for use up to 1 million gallons of water a day from a Kualapuu well to Hawaiian homesteaders.
Crivello said she believes the ranch and the community can work together to resolve the demand for water.
She said that under Nicholas' direction, the ranch has also removed its application to build a 14-inch water pipeline across Hawaiian Homes lands -- a move that was opposed by some native Hawaiians. [5]

In a January 14, 2007 Star-Bulletin article, Allison Schaefers reports on Molokai Ranch's economic struggles:

... development at Laau Point is a subsistence issue for Molokai Ranch as well, said John Sabas, general manager of community resources for Molokai Ranch and a resident of the isle for more than 30 years. To realize economic viability, the company needs the economic boost such a community would provide, he said.
The company's operating cash flow has been strained for many years, Sabas said.
From 2001 to 2006, the company's net loss from operations has been about $31.6 million, according to an internal economic report provided by Molokai Ranch. In addition to operating losses, annual capital expenditures averaging over $800,000 per year for the past five years have put another drain on the company's cash flow, the report said. Molokai Properties Ltd. has subsidized the continuing operations and upkeep of Molokai Ranch to the tune of $36.9 million over the past six years, it said.
Without the Laau Point development program, Molokai Ranch would be forced to cut ranch operations or break up the property by selling entitled lands on a piecemeal basis, Sabas said. Without the increase in support for golf and hotel operations that will come from development at Laau Point development, the company also would have to consider reducing operations or closing those facilities, as well as the other operations that it subsidizes, such as its maintenance, nursery, and gas station services, Sabas said. The impact of these reductions significantly would affect existing employment at the Molokai Ranch and in Maunaloa, he said. [6]

On April 5, 2008, Molokai Ranch closed the Molokai Lodge, Kaupoa Beach Village, Kaluakoi Golf Course, Maunaloa gas station, cattle-rearing and maintenance operations. The Maunaloa Town Cinemas were closed on April 3, 2008. Approximately 120 workers were laid off. [7] The status of the La'au Point development remains unclear.


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This page was last modified 22:27, 2 January 2010 by dKosopedia user Jbet777. Based on work by Kate Gardiner. Content is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.


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