COM 0766.022 2004-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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October 13, 2006 Letter to Hawaaz i County Council SUBJECT: Response to Comments on Bill 251 and Status Report Page 4 of 5 planning and design of the roadway infrastructure with the intention of dedicating most of said infrastructure to the County. We have worked with the State DOT-Highways with their planned expansion of Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway at this area from three through lanes to four through lanes. We have contributed monetarily to the traffic signal under construction at Malulani Drive and Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway intersection which will be complete in a few months and dedicated to the State, and operated by the County. We will be building the extension of Malulani Drive to County dedicable standards up to the mauka edge of the multiple family housing site, and plan to dedicate this road to the County. We are contributing substantial graded rights-of-way to the County so that when the County is ready to complete the mid-level road and the Hienaloli extension, the infrastructure on this project is in place and ready. We have substantially reduced the planned density of this project to accommodate the wishes of some neighbors and reduce traffic use on Malulani Drive. We also investigated widening the lower portion of Malulani Drive at the request of some Malulani Gardens' residents, but this was not supported by the County or State agencies, and proved impossible due to legal constraints in any case. In accordance with County and State procedures, we have had a Traffic Impact Analysis Report ("TIAR') done by M&E Pacific, a licensed and qualified engineering firm in the State of Hawaii, looking at the impact of the KCE project as currently designed on the existing infrastructure system. This TIAR has been updated five (5) separate times due to specific concerns raised by various parties, - and copies of the TIAR and all updates have been provided to the County. The TIAR confirms that the low-density project as envisioned, together with the existing Malulani Gardens project and up to six homes on mauka adjoining lands; the Lowe's store; and the planned M commercial users adjacent to Lowe's does not degrade any of the intersections to be used for ingress/egress by the project to an unacceptable level. Some important points to remember include: 1. Malulani Drive is a four-lane road built to County dedicable standards on a 60' wide right-of- way, and is in the process of being dedicated to the County. 2. Malulani Drive is required by the County to be connected to the expanding roadway system infrastructure as a condition of approval for the Malulani Gardens project. 3. The mid-level road (right-of-way existing in the Malulani Gardens and planned in Kona Coffee Estates) is also designed to accommodate the planned traffic and is wide enough to be dedicated. 4. The mid-level road in Malulani Gardens is required (as a condition of approval) by the County to be connected to the planned grid and the Kona Coffee Estates project at some point in time. 5. The Hienaloli road extension planned to cross the upper portion of Kona Coffee Estates will be designed to accommodate a major collector road and to be dedicated to the County.