Kahului Town Plan Doubts
Expressed By Maui Mayor

BY BUCK QUAYLE

Kahului Town Plan

Maui Mayor Elmer Cravalho has expressed doubts about ambitious plans to increase the population of Kahului from its present 8,300 to about 37,000.

In remarks at a press conference last week, Cravalho said he has "serious reservations" about the expansion plans announced by Alexander& Baldwin, Inc., which owns most of the undeveloped land in the Kahului area.

Cravalho said his doubts were "economic, social, environmental and ecological in nature, all together a sufficient basis for us to take another look at the plans."

The mayor said he is supporting a program of population decentralization on Maui. The proposed Kahului expansion, he said, would cause "undue concentration of people in one area".

In announcing its expansion plans, A&B said Kahului is an attractive area for residential growth because it is within the island's major govermental-commercial-industrial center, is near new tourist developments, and is convenient to major medical, recreational and educational facilities.

A&B said there is a large amount of unused non-agricultural land south of the present town that would be suitable for residential development.