Waiale EIS

A final environmental impact statement has been released for A&B Properties’ 2,550-home, 545-acre development in Central Maui.

The final documents can be found online at the state Office of Environmental Quality Control website.

2011-11-23-FEIS-Waiale-Volume1

2011-11-23-FEIS-Waiale-Volume2

According to the office’s Environmental Notice newsletter, project plans call for residential communities, including single-family and multifamily dwellings, to be connected to village mixed-use areas. Those areas would be supported by commercial, retail, office, civic and other facilities through a system of pedestrian and bicycle paths and greenways. Plans also call for development of a middle school, a regional park, a regional community center and other public facilities.

In November, the state Land Use Commission voted to accept A&B’s environmental impact statement for the project. The company needs to return to the commission in February to seek a state land use district amendment from agricultural to urban. A&B also needs to seek zoning changes from the Maui County Council.

A&B faces questions about water and sewage capacity availability, Hawaiian burials in sand dunes and about the extent to which the development would add to urban sprawl.

Project plans call for setting aside cultural preserve areas dedicated to the preservation of archaeological features and lithified sand dunes.