One of the changes requested and granted by the County Planning Department was to eliminate the requirement that the Parker Ranch Connector Road be constructed prior to any residential or commercial uses being permitted. Instead Parker Ranch requested and was allowed to construct the connector road in conjunction with surrounding residential development.  Despite all the development going on within this 340 acre parcel, to date none of the connector road has been built.

In early 2006, Parker Ranch requested final approval of its Luala'i III subdivision and asked that the requirement of building a portion of the connector road be deleted. At first the Planning Department indicated it would allow Parker Ranch to complete this Luala'i III subdivision omitting any construction of this road construction.  However in response to the objections made by members of the community (including the filing of an administrative  declaratory ruling by these same Waimea residents, Jan R. Herron-Whitehead and Lavern Till), the Planning Department finally conditioned approval of Luala'i III subdivision upon Parker Ranch's agreement to complete one phase of the Parker Ranch Connector Road, that is Connector Road Phase 3.  "Phase 3" is at the Southern most end of the Connector Road and  would link the south side of the Luala'i subdivision at Kaomaloa Street to Mamalahoa Highway, but would stop short of Lindsey Road and a major portion of the Lualai III subdivision.   However it was the position of some in the community that the Luala'i III development also triggered the requirement to build one other phase of the connector road, the "Phase 1" section. Completion of Connector Road Phase 1 along with Phase 3 would provide the critical alternate routing from Mamalahoa highway by the rodeo grounds along the southerly side of the entire Luala'i III subdivision, to   Waimea's public schools, the post office, banks, Parker Ranch shopping center, and the North Hawaii Community Hospital on Pukalani Road (which intersects Mamalahoa Highway by Ace Hardware at the north end of the Parker Ranch shopping center).

In June 2007,  Waimea residents Jan R. Herron-Whitehead and Laverne Till  filed an appeal of the Luala'i Phase III subdivision approval arguing that both Phases 1 and 3 of the Connector Road must be completed . The Appellants were represented by Waimea attorney Margaret Wille.   On September 13, 2007, one day before the scheduled hearing in the case, the parties settled. 

In the September 13, 2007 settlement,  Parker Ranch agreed to construct the entire portion  of the Connector Road that Appellants had asked to be completed, that is,  Connector Road Phase 1 (in addition to Phase 3) as well as the extension on to existing Pukalani Road. The funds  for bonding this road construction must be in place within 60 days. Whereas the design of these two phases of the Connector Road will begin immediately, construction will take several years to complete. (The final deadline for total completion of this construction is as follows: Phase 3 by May of 2009; Phase 1 by May 2010). 

Certainly getting construction of the Parker Ranch Connector Road back on track is a laudable achievement, but this milestone alone will not solve all of Waimea's traffic woes.   We need to now focus on overcoming the NIMBY politics blocking the County's commitment to begin construction of the Lalamilo connector road (from the Kawaihae Road transfer station to Mamalahoa Highway where it will link up with the Parker Ranch Connector Road).  At the same time we must also implement  alternative transportation modes, such as bike and pedestrian paths (such as the long over due construction of the Greenway Trail through town), and in-town shuttle buses (free in-town Waimea shuttle buses are supposed to start by the end of October).  Let's together make sure there is no more foot-dragging on any of these other projects.