Judge halts Kōloa housing project amid community opposition
A judge froze SK Investors’ 148-unit Kōloa project, putting Weliweli and Waikomo road construction on hold while Friends of Māhā‘ulepū and Save Kōloa appeal.
A Circuit Court judge has temporarily halted SK Investors LLC’s 148-unit housing project in Kōloa, putting work on nearly 9.5 acres near Weliweli and Waikomo roads on hold while the appeal moves forward. The pause follows county Planning Commission approval with conditions that the units never become vacation rentals and that at least 45% go to existing county residents.
The challenge comes from Friends of Māhā‘ulepū and Save Kōloa, which filed a petition to intervene and argued the project is too large for the town core, threatens safety on narrow rural roads and does not belong in a historic community with traffic, parking, drainage and emergency access problems. The legal fight turns on whether the county’s zoning approvals fit the South Kauai Form-Based Code, whether the developer gave proper notice and whether it adequately addressed Native Hawaiian traditional practices.
At a Kōloa Community Association meeting, Julie Souza, a fifth-generation Po‘ipū resident with longstanding ties to Kōloa, said, “It will literally kill us.” Elizabeth Okinaka of Save Kōloa said, “We can’t keep approving these things without the proper infrastructure.” Opponents have also said the project would be the largest multifamily development in town and would change Kōloa’s character.
Mike Serpa, who bought the site in 2023, said the project is meant for local buyers who earn too much for subsidized housing but not enough to buy market-rate homes. He said in February that prices would start at about $520,000 for one-bedroom units, $650,000 for two-bedroom units and the high $600,000s for three-bedroom units. The 148 homes would be spread across 31 plantation-style duplex, fourplex and eightplex buildings, each two stories tall, with 226 parking stalls onsite and another 25 along surrounding roads.
The County Council approved a $25 million bond for Lima Ola in Eleele in April 2023, and county officials call it the largest affordable housing effort the county has ever undertaken. Brian Schatz called Lima Ola the biggest affordable housing project Kauai has ever done.
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