Eight-unit complex proposed along Dickenson Street in Lahaina Town

The project is proposed at the intersection of Honoapiilani Highway and Dickenson Street (at right), across from Sacred Hearts School.
LAHAINA – The potential development of a residential rental property at 266 Dickenson St. is on the drawing board, with the owners seeking multiple permits to construct a three-story, eight-unit apartment building on the two lots located on the southwest corner of the busy downtown Lahaina intersection at Honoapiilani Highway and Dickenson Street.
The public was informed of the proposition in the March 8 state Office of Environmental Quality Control (OEQC) semi-monthly publication, The Environmental Notice.
A link to the project’s Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) is included in the online state bulletin at oeqc2.doh.hawaii.gov/The_Environmental_Notice.
A hard copy is also available at Lahaina Public Library.
The Maui Planning Commission is charged to conduct a critical analysis of the comprehensive critique, and the community has the opportunity to participate during this 30-day formal review and comment period, with a deadline of April 9.
Send comments, questions or suggestions to Staff Planner Paul Fasi of the Maui County Planning Department by e-mail to Paul.Fasi@co.maui.hi.us or by mail to 2200 Main St., Suite 315, Wailuku, HI 93793.
A preliminary public hearing in front of the powerful panel was held in Wailuku on March 27.
This was just the first in a series of formal reviews slated before various governmental agencies and the public that will be held during the lengthy and costly permitting process, including a Change in Zoning, Special Management Area Use Permit (SMA) and Building Permit.
The two-parcel project, situated across the street from Sacred Hearts School and historic Maria Lanakila Catholic Church, is approximately 10,595 square feet.
The eight-unit complex would have four units on the first floor, three on the second floor and one on the third floor. Seven are two-bedroom apartments, and the eighth is a one-bedroom residence.
Unit square footage, subject to change, will range between 700 and 1,000 square feet.
There will be 16 onsite parking spaces.
Current county zoning designations are “D-2 Duplex,” with a small portion termed “R-2 Residential.” Within the West Maui Community Plan, it is “Multi-family,” and “Urban” on the State Land Use Map. It is situated within the Lahaina National Historic Landmark District and the Special Management Area.
The DEA details the recent history of 266 Dickenson, located in the Paunau Ahupua’a and “previously altered by sugarcane cultivation.”
Historical tax records in 1957 show two structures on the lot: a 1,970-square-foot dwelling and 1,130-square-foot garage with washroom and patio.
By 2003, both structures had been demolished, and the property has been unoccupied for the past 21 years.
“The proposed project is an urban in-fill project intended to help alleviate some of the region’s residential housing demand,” the DEA specifies.
Rental rates have not been determined.
The development location, between Front Street and Honoapiilani Highway along the Dickenson Street corridor, is problematic.
According to the county Department of Public Works, the current width of the 25-foot roadway is not to code.
Further, to meet code requirements, the developer is required to install curbs, gutter and six-foot wide sidewalks along their frontage; where, according to the DEA, “There is no shoulder space.”
The Maui Police Department weighed in with comments and recommendations about the addition of 16 vehicles “utilizing Dickenson Street daily.”
“During morning and after school hours, Dickenson Street is a heavily utilized road. It is also one of the more narrow cross streets for Honoapi’ilani Highway and Front Street; hence, there are signs posted on the highway that large trucks cannot turn down Dickenson from the highway.”
Shane K. Yoshida, Lahaina-stationed Police Officer III, recommended this condition: “to restrict the tenants from making a left turn onto the property from Dickenson Street when traveling west off Honoapi’ilani Highway, and no left turn out of the property on to Dickenson Street.”
The applicant will mitigate “safety and traffic issues by restricted left-hand turns into and out of the property. He has also worked with Public Works to determine a sidewalk and setback plan along his portion of Dickenson Street,” Mariah Gill, project environmental consultant, told the Lahaina News.
The owners are Kaanapali residents Christopher & Katherine Ondatje Trust and the Marshall 2012 Kerr Trust.
Maui County tax records show the combined amount paid for the two parcels by the trusts in 2016 was approximately $448,000.
The managing partner is Chris Ondatje, alliancehawaii@yahoo.com. The development consultant is Rory Frampton Consulting Inc., rory@roryframpton.com. The approving agency is the Maui Planning Department.