'AINA HAINA — The developer of a proposed hillside residential project in 'Aina Haina is asking the city for more time before its permit deadline so he can work with the community over its concerns about whether the slope is safe for housing.

But opposition to the plan continued yesterday, as members of the newly formed 'Aina Haina Hui held signs near the project site, urging the city Department of Planning and Permitting to deny the required permits.

Developer Kent Untermann is seeking permission to build a multi-family project on a steep slope above 'Aina Haina Elementary School. Called Wailupe Mauka, it would have a total of 15 units — two three-story buildings with six units each and a two-story building with three units.

Monday is the deadline for the city to approve or reject Untermann's request for a cluster housing permit. Untermann said he has asked the city to hold off making a decision for 30 days while he tries to address residents' concerns.

Henry Eng, director of the Department of Planning and Permitting director, said once he receives the developer's request in writing, he will try to accommodate the bid for a 30-day extension.

Area lawmakers have urged the city to come together with the residents and the developer to find a middle ground.

"It's not been a pleasurable experience," Untermann said. "But I feel a sense of responsibility to at least try to talk to the community. There's a lot of anger and emotions. Hopefully we can get through that and have more productive meetings."

Studies at the site of the planned cluster homes show some unstable soil and rock.

"The 'Aina Haina valley has a long history of slippage and losing homes," said Phil Manly, an 'Aina Haina resident. "It's well-documented that the soil in the lower area is unstable. We're hoping the city can learn from its past mistakes.

"We're not saying we're against any development. We're just saying that this might not be the proper place."

Since the community first learned of the project, there have been two community meetings with standing-room-only crowds. The most recent was last week, when more than 100 residents spoke of their concerns about traffic, unstable soil, rockfalls and flooding. The Kuli'ou'ou/Kalani Iki Neighborhood Board voted in September to urge the city to deny the request for a cluster housing permit.

'Aina Haina residents have first-hand experience with unstable soil. The city spent $7 million in the 1990s to buy out a group of residents whose homes were slipping on their foundations on Leighton and Ailuna streets.

A decade earlier, the City Council agreed to stop a developer from building a cemetery on 100 acres at the back of the valley after residents pointed to the slippage problem, said Art Mori, a longtime 'Aina Haina resident.

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.