No hotels here… EVER. Image: Councilman Don Guzman’s office
Maui County just saved Jaws. Well, sort of. They saved the land surrounding the legendary big wave spot–which is one of the things that makes it so amazing.
“There’s so much raw power being released when that wave breaks. You’re overwhelmed, you’re intimated, and you’re humbled, kind of all at the same time,” Dave Kalama told Hawaii News Now. “You’re looking at land, you’re not looking at development, you’re not looking at buildings, you’re looking at trees, you’re using cliffs to give you reference to where you are in the water, and that’s a pretty special thing nowadays.”
Back in June, nearly 300 acres of pristine land hit the market. Residents were worried, and rightly so. If the land were to be purchased by developers, it would’ve been a disaster. Some places just shouldn’t be developed. They did more than worry about it, though. They took action.
Locals called on the City Council to buy the land before someone else could. For just under $10 million, the entire 267 acres now belongs to the County. The purchase includes four lots and the right to use the path to the lookout at Jaws, and it’s not being developed anytime soon.
Don Guzman, Maui County Councilman, isn’t putting hotels or apartments in. Instead, he plans on creating Maui’s first organic agricultural park. “I said you know what, the community wants this. We need to utilize our Open Space Fund and capture it and buy this land and preserve it for generations to come,” Guzman said. The land will also be used for hiking, horse, and bike trails, as well as cultural purposes.
The newly purchased lots will be used for an Organic Agricultural Park. Image: Councilman Don Guzman’s office
