LET'S START BY DEFINING WAILEA?

The 1500-acre Wailea Resort was conceived in the 1960's as an integrated residential resort community.  In the early 1970's, overall ideas for land usage and specific plans for some individual project areas were developed.  The concept was called a "Planned Unit Development," which gave the developers greater flexibility in planning, relieved the County government of some long-term obligations and some short term costs, and provided the future owners with a wide range of housing diversity.  Commercial properties and recreational amenities were also included in the resort planning.

One fundamental aspect of a Planned Unit Development (PUD) is the concept of shared ownership and shared responsibilities for maintenance, as in a condominium, where each unit owner shares in the ownership and maintenance of the common areas.  In a large upscale PUD such as Wailea, the County could not be expected to maintain the common areas at a desirable level.  Most developers have relatively short-term interest in a project (the larger the project - the longer the interest).  Who will take care of it all-in perpetuity?

The answer, of course, is an association of property owners - a Community Association comprised of the people who benefit, through property values and enhanced environments, from having the common areas maintained to a high standard.  By sharing these common area maintenance costs among all of the members, the costs become minimal in comparison with the benefit.  This is the essence of community association living.

A Community Association, like a person or a nation, has a life history of its own; a birth, an infancy, an adolescence and a maturity.  The larger the association, in size and population, the slower the growth curve.  "Wailea" is a relatively large resort community which is legally described in the Declaration, as including:  "the land and improvements approximately bounded by:  Piilani Highway, Kilohana Road, Kihei Road, the Pacific Ocean and Kaukahi Street - with the exception of a few lots or units which have not been annexed to "Wailea".
 
WHAT IS THE WAILEA COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION?

The Wailea Community Association (WCA) is a Hawaii non-profit corporation, chartered in 1987 for a specific purpose:

"The purpose for which the corporation is organized is to provide for the management, maintenance, protection , preservation, aesthetic and architectural control and development of property on the Island and County of Maui, State of Hawaii, within the area known as "Wailea," and to promote the health, safety, and welfare of its members."

Wailea Community Association's membership is much more diverse than most property owners associations and includes the owners of individual condominiums, hotels, recreational amenities, single-family homes, and undeveloped lots and land parcels.  All of these owners have a vested interest in Wailea.  It is for the benefit of all that the Wailea Community Association strives to protect, preserve, and enhance the value of the collective assets and the perception of quality of life in the resort.  The collective value of assets in Wailea are currently estimated to exceed $3.5 billion - quite a responsibility!

This responsibility is guided by a Board of Directors and implemented by a professional staff on behalf of the Association.  The Board is made up of representatives of each type of ownership.  The Board and the Staff rely heavily on input and participation of individual members through an extensive network of committees, such as the Executive Committee comprised of the Presidents of the individual homeowner associations in Wailea.

Generally WCA's attentions are focused inwardly, as mandated, rather than being politically active outside the resort.  However, the Board has occasionally felt that the potential impact of a proposed project outside the resort justified taking a position and public comment.  Most of WCA's time and effort is directed within the boundaries of the resort, where it functions as both a governmental body and as a business.

The WCA membership has grown to well-over 1,700 members, its annual budget to over $2.3 million, and a fully funded reserve (for future replacements).  The financial needs of the association are met through mandatory semi-annual assessments paid by all members, based on the type and size of property owned.  The larger the property, the larger the assessment.  The average owner currently pays less than $27 per month.  The assessments for commercial properties are substantially higher. 
 
WHAT DOES WCA DO FOR ITS MEMBERSHIP?

The common areas of Wailea, totaling over 30 acres, include parks, beach accesses, and over 10 miles of landscaped roadsides, much of which is owned by the County of Maui.  The bulk of WCA's physical activities concentrate on these areas which establish the overall character and ambiance of the resort.  These areas were built and initially established by the master developer and then turned over to the association for ongoing maintenance.

A. Some of WCA's specific responsibilities in which the association functions mainly as a business include:

1.  Landscape and Maintenance of common areas - mowing, irrigation, fertilizing, trimming of hedges/groundcover, raking, flower replacements, and the trimming of more than 400 street trees twice a year.
2.  Janitorial Functions, such as scrubbing sidewalks, street sweeping of all major thoroughfares daily & beach parking lots weekly, and the cleaning of beach rest rooms/showers twice a day/seven days a week.
3.  Other General Maintenance involves roadside directional signs, painting traffic light poles and electrical boxes, painting guardrails, changing light bulbs on walkways, and common area irrigation repairs.
4.  24-hour Wailea Patrol of two vehicles roaming the streets of Wailea and parks to deter crime. An additional 8-hour beachwalk patrol at night assists in keeping crime away from the beachfront properties. Through cooperation with all member properties and the MPD, this function has proved to be extremely effective.
5.  Prudent Management of Risk entails property inspections for safety/liability concerns as well as maintaining appropriate insurance protection.

B. The comparison of a large community association to a municipal government is demonstrated in the following areas:

1.  Architectural Controls are placed on all properties in "Wailea" (recorded on title) in order to preserve the aesthetic continuity of new projects, while protecting existing property values, within established guidelines.  This is a specialized area in which the association relies heavily on its Design Committee of professionals.
2.  Represents the Membership in the larger community of Maui on matters determined to have potentially significant impact on the resort.
3.  Enforcement of WCA's Covenants & Restrictions is always a significant part of the staff's job.  These covenants are intended to protect the quality of life and community harmony in Wailea.  

C. The Wailea Community Associations office presently functions with a staff of 7 employees.  They effectively carry out the supervision of all the services mentioned above, administrative and clerical functions, as well as process all assessment and member communications.  There are 12 Full-time and Part-time employees that perform all of the janitorial, maintenance and landscaping functions noted above.

D. The association currently hosts an annual membership meeting and produces a periodic newsletter and this web site to keep the membership informed.