The idyllic Northwest corner of Maui is home to the super-rich resort Mecca of Kapalua. There are several beautiful beaches, some of the country's best golf courses, a Ritz-Carlton, and a new super-upscale timeshare on the way. Plus the local landholder and resort developer, Maui Land & Pine, owned by AOL gazillionaire Steve Case (with investments from EBay magnate Pierre Omidyar) is planning to build out a new super lux homesite development on Lipoa Point, just north of Honolua Bay, a famed surf break. Local opposition is quickly rising. The locals feel that there is no place left in West Maui for them already and adding even more housing that is out of reach to mere mortals (median home prices over $600,000) is just too much. ML&P has pitched itself as a responsible, sustainable land company. The CEO David Cole (an ex-AOL executive) even has a desk reclaimed from a door at the Kapalua Bay Hotel, a lovely old hotel property that ML&P knocked down to make way for a Marriott mega-time share. This article, from Hawaii Business Magazine, does a good job taking a local point of view of the Apenification of Maui, a growing problem on an island where starter homes cost over $500,000 yet wages are stuck in the hotel / resort zone. Lipoa Point homes sites will likely go for $10 million a piece. Honolulu Bay, a fairly pristine place, will be forever altered.

—Alex, 07/10/07