A 272-acre Big Island community on the northern outskirts of Kailua is the first residential project to be developed there since the county adopted a grassroots blueprint for the district.

Keahuolu Village will feature more than 2,000 homes, a majority of them priced in the affordable range.

The Kona Community Development Plan, which took more than a year and 100 meetings to fine-tune, was accepted late last year by the Hawai'i County Council as the guideline for future development in the district.

More than 70 West Hawai'i residents told the developer, Forest City Hawaii, in a meeting Tuesday they want the community to emphasize such aspects as ease of navigation and open space.