Princeville Center deal goes to public hearing

CIRA de CASTILLOTGI Staff Writer

LIHU’E — The County Council will hold a public hearing March 15 to allow

comment on a bill that would permit Princeville Corporation to move ahead with

plans to expand its shopping center.

The proposed bill amends a 10-year-old

zoning ordinance condition that required Princeville Corporation to build 100

employee housing units before it would be permitted to rezone and expand the

shopping center.

The Planning Commission approved Princeville’s proposal

for a land and money swap in exchange for lifting the housing requirement in

November.

In lieu of the housing units, Princeville agreed to deed to the

county a half acre parcel at Black Pot Beach Park in Hanalei that is valued at

$407,500.

Additionally, Princeville will be assessed park dedication fees

on certain lots located in Phase 1 of the resort community. The Planning

Department has calculated that approximately $.8 million in park dedication

fees could be realized by the County in the arrangement.

According to

Planning Department reports the combination of raw land and dedication fees

would total $1.2 million that the county could garner in exchange for removal

of the 100 housing units.

However, according to Planning Commission reports

there is a caveat that would allow Princeville to substitute the $.8 million

payment with 2.85 acres of yet unspecified land.

The zoning condition

required that 25 percent of the employee housing units be sold at affordable

prices.

Princeville Corporation has justified its position by saying that

economic and social conditions on Kaua’i are significantly different than they

were 10 years ago when the original ordinance was enacted.

The housing

requirement, the corporation says, is no longer appropriate and would keep it

from expanding the shopping center to meet community needs.

Princeville

Corporation’s request to remove the original employee housing condition has

been supported by a County Housing Agency memorandum that states “there is no

appreciable demand for employee housing or affordable housing in the

Princeville area and such a requirement should not be an obstacle that prevents

Princeville Corporation from expanding its shopping center.”

Ken Rainforth,

county housing executive assistant, said after the Council meeting Wednesday

that he believes it is in the county’s best interest to get something for

eliminating the housing requirement.

“At the time the Black Pot Beach

parcel and the park dedication fees seemed to be just compensation,” he said.

“But that may be very difficult to justify to someone who lives on the North

Shore and doesn’t have affordable housing.”

As far as the future of

affordable housing and rental on the North Shore, Rainforth said he is always

looking for parcels that would be appropriate for affordable rentals or housing

but the market is unstable and when tourism is down county housing is

vulnerable to low occupancy.

At the Planning Commission public hearing on

the matter, the general sentiment was the deal was acceptable so long as the

value of the exchange was equal to the original community benefit.

The

employee housing condition was part of an ordinance approved in June 1988 when

Princeville Corporation was granted a general commercial district zoning

amendment for 10 acres of Residential District R-10 zoned North Shore land

located makai of Kuhio Highway, just west of the existing shopping center.