Pave Maui Autumn 2007: South Maui is about to get Nuked

www.pavemaui.org


It's not too late...
to Pave it!
Pave it Good!
Before (worthless empty land)
Here come the developers...
Much better!!



Have you ever heard the term(s):

All of these terms are being applied to two of the most hard-impacting development projects ever to hit the Hawaiian Islands.

And as is usual in the ever-so-fluffy real estate industry, you can always make more commission by bending the facts just a little,
to make the sale.

For anyone who doesn't keep up with local events, here are some items to consider:

Laau Point: (on Molokai, the heretofore 'friendly' island)

  • Laau Point is one of the last open, undeveloped areas on Molokai
  • The developers are working with Molokai Ranch, which controls a great deal of the water on the island
  • Molokai already has a water-supply crisis, and there have been several droughts in recent years, which lead local people there to question the wisdom of any large-scale development
  • Meanwhile, the Laau Point developers want to build 200 or more high-end homes and condos.
  • You can hear advertisements in favor of this project every hour on every radio station; why so much P.R. for a "good thing"??
  • The last sellout, Mr. MacAfee, had to hire armed guards to keep the "friendly" natives from kicking his patootie. Molokai may be getting dangerous for outsiders...
  • Last but not least, there are not enough proven water sources for this development!!!

Wailea 670 (just renamed Honua'ula):

  • This is a mega-devlopment of over 500 acres on Maui
  • Thousands of million-dollar-plus houses and condos are planned
  • The top-level oversight is coming from Cargill Corporation and Lehman Brothers, neither of which has any experience with Hawaiian issues.
  • The property is only a short distance from a federal wilderness area
  • There will be NO affordable housing in the project's area.
  • The current roadway, and sewage infrastructures will not be able to handle the additional load from the 1500+ new residences associated with this project
  • You can hear advertisements in favor of this project every hour on every radio station.
  • One more time, there are not enough proven water sources for this development!!!



If you listen to the radio on any given day, most stations feature local people sounding off about how much they are in favor of Honua'ula, and its job opportunities, etc. Soft Hawaiian music plays in the background. Natural. Soothing.

Not one voice mentions the fact that local people will be there mowing the lawns, polishing up the marble tiles, and cleaning the toilets in Honua'ula but no local people can afford to live there. Only rich outsiders need apply; in the last ten years, nine out of ten new home buyers are from overseas, less than half ever live here, some never even see their homes.





Where will the water come from ?



Can anyone at Lehman Bros. even spell
'Kokua' or 'Pono' ???



Pave Maui Points (out of 100)

  • largest development on Maui in 20 years: 40
  • selling out to Lehman Brothers and Cargill: 20
  • one hundred miles of new roadway needed: 20
  • runoff potential : 10
  • heavy development bordering wilderness areas: 10
    ....BINGO!!!: 100 points!!! These are professional pavers!!


    Peter Pave-a-lot
    Thanksgiving Day 2007
    (still thankful that the construction hasn't started....)




    With the Rains Comes the Runoff... (December 1, 2003)

    This developer BROKE SEVERAL LAWS and wasn't even fined!


    Nope, this ISN'T a copper mine in Borneo.

    It's right across the street from the posh Hotel Fairmont Kea Lani and the million-dollar Polo Beach condos at the south end of Wailea, Maui. This is runoff happening right before your very eyes. This large Hitachi steamshovel is busy moving dirt to prevent the large mound of goo behind it from falling into the rushing river in the foreground.

    This channel is normally bone-dry, but on that day there were 3 inches of rain upcountry and it all comes down through here.

    This was a gross violation of EPA runoff laws, but no one there seemed to care; we talked to a worker and he said "You can't stop mother nature"...

    After news of this runoff broke, Dowling hired a helicopter, flew several journalists upcountry above this site, and showed them that some of the runoff came from uphill.

    Dowling then used this logic to "prove" that he wasn't a polluter, and avoided huge fines and possible criminal prosecution as a result.

    As any Honest cop will tell you, just because there may be litter already on the side of the road, you still have to pay the fine if you are caught dumping more garbage.

    But Everett Dowling is above the law, or at least it appears to be the case.

    Why did this criminal behavior go completely unchallenged?

    December 2, 2003

    [Ed]: 100 points out a possible 100 on this one!!!

    photo courtesy of Jack Hammer, crack reporter

    Pavemaui's Hall of Shame

    dedicated to the brain-dead, the greedy, real estate agents and other human jackals...



    Saddam's Bunker in Makena?

    One of the ugliest things EVER on Maui, in a beautiful pristine area, to boot. To compensate for their substandard (but EXPENSIVE) lot, some fools built a 100-foot, ten-foot THICK, twelve foot high concrete retaining wall in a rural area, right next to a roadway, and also below the high tide and storm surge heights. The ocean dragged coral up to the edge of their foundation the day these photos were taken.

    Translation for the impaired (i.e. real estate agents): this construction is ILLEGAL and whoever in the council approved is also guilty of violating coastal preservation laws

    Pave Maui Points (out of 100)

  • replicating hoover dam on a 1:20 scale: 25
  • pure ugliness in a very pristine area: 15
  • raw concrete at the ocean's edge: 20
  • runoff potential : 15
    ...total: 75! not bad! (hint, for more points, get everyone on Maui to build right up to the water's edge!)



    • 'Pave it Underwater'

    Makena, I have seen your future if the paving continues, and not only will the land be paved, but there will be fresh pavement under the sea!!

    Over on Kauai, some dolt named Jimmy Pflueger blew away all the ground cover on several acres of shoreline. Shoreline right next to one of the biggest coral reefs in the state!

    That's right, and when the November (2001) rains came, the whole lot of mud gushed right into the ocean. Marine scientists looking at this mess are saying that reefs and large coral heads over 100 years old were completely killed, and there is no new growth on any of them.

    Check out The Advertiser on July 1, 2002 for more info, first page B section, Jan TenBruggencate's column 'Hawaii's Environment'

    As the paving continues in Makena, so will the runoff. Runoff with mud, oil, fertilizer, cowshit, and gasoline (from old cars which spit 10% of their gas out the tailpipe). No, this stuff doesn't evaporate, it sinks in to the asphalt pavement, partially desolving it under the sun and weathering. This goo then goes straight into the ocean when it rains. By the way, even the best containment systems produce runoff during high rains; it can't be helped.

    Pave Maui Points (out of 100)

  • turning 100 year-old coral reefs into gravel: 35
  • adding fifty truckloads of mud to the reef: 15
  • minimansion potential (just don't go into the water): 15
  • use of a bulldozer in a very creative way: 20
  • depriving locals of the ability to fish: 10
  • shit. i'm adding five points just for the hell of it!: 5 Perfect Score!!!!
    You'd have to bomb the area to do better!
    ...total: 100! (I gotta be tougher with my criteria!)



    • 'Clint Eastwood Beach'

    Near the border between Wailea and Makena, on one of the last truly open beaches on Maui, the former Mayor of Carmel, California, and 'tough guy' Clint Eastwood, is building yet another minimansion, blocking off beach access and creating a concrete eyesore. The Wailea Corporation is busily developing all the land across the street as fast as it can, too! All the land between the old Makena road and the beach here should immediately be bought by the county and turned into a beach park, to guarantee open space for future generations. He paid over $7 MILLION for the 1.5 acre lot; who says outsiders don't contribute to the local economy? Too bad he didn't spend any on education...
    Wake up, Clint. If I went and built a McDonald's on the 18th at Pebble Beach, would you be happy?
    Another hollywood star falls in love with Maui, only to destroy what he allegedly cherishes!

    Pave Maui Points (out of 100)
  • tweaking virgin beach: 25
  • obstructing beach access: 10
  • minimansion potential: 15
  • hollywood star tourist draw: 20
  • repaving/widening old Makena road: 10

    90 points!




    • Wailea Shopping 'Village'

    This gigantic, $90-million 'renovation' of the former Wailea Shopping Village is nearly complete, and no doubt way over budget. Financed by Ross Perot's son and other greedheads, this is a classic example of California-style architecture gobbling up the beauty of Hawaii. This concrete shopping den is built up to within 20 feet of the edge of the property on all sides, maximizing the development potential! They didn't waste any valuable real estate on 'green space' with this one, that's not what Maui is about. It's shopping, shopping, shopping, people! Looking more like it belongs in Riverside instead of Wailea, this megamall will cater to the high-rollers at the local hotels, and provide dozens of low-wage service jobs!
    We have our first poster child for pavemaui.org here, because this project is more than 75% paved with Black Asphalt, which traps in heat and produces tar-laced runoff which runs into the ocean. All the new streetlights and traffic signals will also greatly increase the ambient light level in south Maui, which generally has nice, starlit skies.

    Pave Maui Points (out of 100)
  • 90% of land paved or under concrete: 40!!! (that's what it's all about!)
  • building right up to the edge of lot on all sides: 20
  • extra traffic, noise, ambient light: 15
  • pure ugliness: 15
    ...total: 90 (almost perfectly paved, but with some plants poking out here and there...)

    • Makena becomes a Sewer

    Q: What goes hand-in-hand with rabid development?

    A: Sewage Treatment!

    Yup, it's time to build a gigantic sewage treatment system in Makena. This is just a prelude to hundreds if not thousands of new houses and condos which are going to be plopped in on the hillside above the Makena Resort area. This is one of the last really pristine sections of coastline along Maui, and the runoff from all this construction will undoubtedly have an impact on the beautiful coral growth which can be seen just off Makena Landing.
    Divers, better take your pictures NOW! Because soon, the coral will have a new color, algae green, to go with the color of the developer's favorite commodity, cash! The destruction of coral habitats by runoff has been well documented around the world for years now, but no one acts like it's a problem here. Just slap some "this drain leads to the ocean" signs on all the drains and the problem will take care of itself!

    Pave Maui Points (out of 100)

  • huge concrete structures and pipes: 30
  • possibly miles of residential streets: 25
  • widening roads: 20
  • dead coral (great as a paving material!: 15
    ...total: 90

    • Real Estate "talking heads" on TV

    Ever watch CNBC? Well, over on Maui it's peppered with real estate ads every 10 minutes.

    Buy that condo before the market crashes! Get your bucks in now while prices are low! Only half a million for a condo! Get your piece of Maui Magic! No high pressure sales here! "Our commitment is your assurance of success!"

    Buy Buy BUY!!! (please!)

    There are even timeshares being offered on TV, formerly the domain of snake-oil peddlers; now you can buy timeshares while you daytrade!

    Pave Maui Points (out of 100)

  • bringing in bad elements: 15
  • timeshare promotion: 15
  • advertising saturation: 10
    ...total: 40 (hint: to get more points, start pushing Makena and Hana lots!)




    • Read about the new drug epidemic on Lanai, courtesy of bigtime real estate developent


    Colophon----------------------

    The notion that real estate development and tourism are not in fact 'industries', but more like addictive drugs that trap people into becoming totally dependent on them is increasing in popularity. No region has ever been able to quit 'cold turkey' from this plague, nor are there any 12-step programs to wean people off these narcotics. When combined with greedy politicians eager to approve any zoning whatsoever as long as they get their cut, this one-two punch is unstoppable.

    This juggernaut has even gone so far as to call itself an 'industry', although no real estate people anywhere have ever produced new, pristine land on which to develop, nor have any tourism authorities ever produced a virgin coral reef or rain forest for the tourists to gawk at. There is NO contribution to the GNP from either the tourism or real estate 'industries', even though that's what other legitimate industries are measured by.

    Want to see the future? Just look at places like Seattle, Half Moon Bay, or Aspen.

    Want to stop the stupidity? Put down the real estate "crack pipe" and create some real, productive businesses that actually improve the environment and living conditions for the people of Maui.

    As the real estate market sours, here in late 2007, realtors are getting more and more desperate to make their commissions. Look for a whole spectrum of fresh, new lies to come from their camps in the months to come...

    ....Peter Pave-a-lot, November 2007