Smart Growth News

Hawaii

Lihu'e Developer Planning Hawaii’s First Green Subdivision

Developer Grove Farm is moving ahead with its plans to develop some 400 acres of former sugar lands adjacent to the Lihu'e Airport into a green subdivision that will include retail, office, residential and industrial uses, according to this report in the Honolulu Advertiser.

The development is expected to create as many as 500 construction jobs in its first five to seven years, says the article. The developer has been planning the project for some time and hopes to make the residential-retail portion a showplace of 'smart growth’ with mixed-use buildings, walkable neighborhoods, and a variety of green design elements. The company also hopes to meet the strict requirements to obtain a LEED certification. If successful, it would be the first such neighborhood in the state, according to Warren H. Haruki, Grove Farm's president and CEO.   3/27/2010

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Honolulu to Recharge Economy and Create Jobs with Rail and Transit-Oriented Development

Calling himself ''a glass-half-full kind of guy,'' who sees expects success when others fear failure, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann feels in this recession and fiscal crunch that ''hope must begin with the economy'' and the city’s planned 20-mile rail.

''There is no other shovel-ready project anywhere in this state that will create as many jobs, in as short a time, as rail,'' Mayor Hannemann said in his sixth State of the City address. ''Rail will create an average of 10,000 jobs a year. Once we get the go-ahead to begin construction, we’ll be pumping $300 million into our local economy. And once we break ground, we believe 4,000 people will be put to work right away.''

Noting that contractors ''bid low during an economic downturn'' and that rail is a centerpiece of the Obama administration, the mayor applauded a federal promise of $1.55 billion for the Honolulu system. ''I can’t thank the President and Federal Transit Administration enough for their vote of confidence in our proposal. Honolulu is the envy of the nation to have such an unheard-of commitment so early in the game,'' he said, disturbed by attempts of those who still question five years of hard work and the will of the voters. ''One of the lessons my parents always taught me while growing up in Kalihi, was this: If you don’t have a better idea, then go with the one before you,'' he told objectors. ''I don’t see any meaningful, tangible alternative to our project that is as important to our economy, environment and quality of life, as rail.''

Especially encouraged by formation of the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities, through which the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are helping communities improve the environment, expand affordable housing and fund transit, Mayor Hannemann said he ''can’t think of a more perfect encapsulation of our rail project and transit-oriented development.''

Accordingly, the city will use part of its recent $25,000 grant from the Living Cities collaborative of 22 foundations and financial institutions to help its Department of Planning and Permitting hold an April 6 symposium, during which national TOD experts will outline ways to use rail as a catalyst for sustainable communities. To leverage the anticipated funds from the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities further, the city is looking to use its Affordable Housing and Clean Water and Natural Lands money. It is also working on a package of funding, planning, zoning and other tools, ''to help create livable communities that will include affordable housing, open space, pedestrian and bicycle-friendly paths, and a sustainable environment,'' while making this vision attractive to private developers.

Mayor Hannemann told the listeners, that the private sector has invested $15 billion in TOD in Washington, D.C., $7.4 billion in Phoenix, and $3 billion in Portland.

Learn more about the federal Sustainable Communities program at www.epa.gov/dced/partnership/index.html.   2/22/2010

Resource(s): www.honolulu.gov/

Developer Pushes to Build Another 5,000 Homes in Central Oahu

Having finished the 40-year construction of 16,000-home Mililani Town in central Oahu two years ago, developer Castle & Cooke has asked the state Land Use Commission (LUC) to reclassify 768 rural acres nearby for another two master-planned and long-stalled projects that will include 5,000 more dwellings.

Called Waiawa and Koa Ridge Makai, reports Honolulu Star-Bulletin writer Allison Schaefers, the projects would offer 1,500 and 3,500 housing units, respectively. The latter also would feature 500,000 square feet of commercial space, recreation centers, churches, parks and an elementary school. Expected to cost between $200,000 and $1 million, said Castle & Cooke Executive Vice President Bruce Barrett, the homes in the lower price range would provide more affordability for central Oahu, while the whole development could generate some 2,500 jobs and millions of dollars in state and Honolulu County revenue. ''We wanted to create an environment that draws people to the community and makes them want to stay there,'' he stressed, confident that ''smart growth'' will help temper traffic.

Residents, noted project manager Dean Minakami, would find most of what they need locally, including a central gathering place, shopping, entertainment, medical facilities, bike paths and other amenities. ''We took the best of Mililani,'' he said, ''and addressed the current needs of Central Oahu residents for a live, work and play community.''

Should it get all approvals and permits, the company could break ground in late 2012. Its officials have already formed a broad community ''visioning'' group to discuss local needs further, while a series of just launched public hearings, the writer observes, is bound to ''reopen old wounds and mend some old fences.'' Some area groups and businesses – including the Mililani Mauka/Launani Valley Neighborhood Board, Wahiawa General Hospital and Costco – favor the current plan. Others – such as the Mililani/Waipio/Malemanu Neighborhood Board and the Sierra Club of Hawaii – continue their strong opposition, resenting a misuse of agricultural land and predicting groundwater shortages, congested roads and overcrowded schools. ''Our main objection is the loss of important ag land, particularly when Oahu is talking about food self-sufficiency,'' said Sierra Club Director Robert Harris. ''This kind of growth is like a cancer,'' warned a neighborhood board member, retired Lt. Col. Ann Freed. ''Instead of keeping the density in town, they are spreading it out all over the island. The second-city concept didn’t work in Kapolei, and it won’t work here.''   1/22/2010

Resource(s): www.starbulletin.com/

Concerned About Public Safety, Seattle Mayor Wants to Rebuild Seawall Sooner Than Planned

Two weeks after taking office, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn surprised the City Council with a news-conference proposal to ask voters this May to approve $241 million in bonds for urgent replacement of the city’s crumbling seawall along the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Completed in 1936, time-worn and additionally weakened by a 2001 earthquake, the often patched-up seawall is slated for full reconstruction by 2015 or 2016 as part of the state’s $4.2-billion project to replace the equally fatigued and vulnerable viaduct with a deep-bore two-level highway tunnel. Mayor McGinn, who opposed the tunnel option during his race last year, writes Seattle Times reporter Emily Heffter, sees seawall replacement as a separate issue that demands immediate attention because of ever-higher public safety risk. His proposal would raise property taxes about 12 cents per $1,000 of assessed value and ensure completion of the new, earthquake-resistant seawall at least one year earlier, by 2014.

Asked for clarification by a Seattle Times editorial and a City Council letter – signed by eight members, but not his political ally and fellow Sierra Club volunteer, newcomer Mike O’Brien – Mayor McGinn denied any link between his criticism of the tunnel and his call to speed up reconstruction of the seawall. ''We do indeed have a different opinion about the tunnel, but that disagreement should not stop us from fixing a public-safety risk right now,'' he told the council, whose support he needs to put the bond measure on the ballot.

Willing to delay the ballot from May to the August primary, he noted that his out-of-pocket paid opinion poll found 70 percent of respondents ready to vote for the property tax increase. He also stressed that bonds would bring in the money quickly, and that revenue from such sources as tax districts or parking taxes could spur other waterfront improvements, including pedestrian and biker-focused upgrades. In a Seattle Times guest column, the mayor reiterated his key point. ''The seawall isn’t related to the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement except as it relates to safety. Rather than tying these issues together, my intention is to separate them. Regardless of whether there is a tunnel in our future, the fact is that we need to replace the seawall. And even with the deep-bore tunnel, the plan has always been to replace the seawall first,'' he pointed out. ''I believe the seawall is vitally important. We can’t allow it to get caught up in the politics or long construction schedule of the tunnel.''   1/18/2010

Resource(s): http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/

Maui Plans Expansion of Wind Turbines Throughout the Island

Inspired by the 2009 New Partners for Smart Growth conference and by President Obama’s push for renewable energy, Maui County Council Vice-Chair Mike Molina introduced a bill to allow small wind turbines in all county zoning districts. ''This is just one small piece of the puzzle within the whole green movement to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels and significantly reduce greenhouse gases,'' Molina observed in this Maui News article. He added that the 2009 conference attendees ''were amazed with all of Hawaii’s sun and wind that we were so far behind on using this technology.''

The state is now getting 97 percent of its electricity from fossil sources, the most nationwide, while residents are paying the highest fuel prices because of transportation costs. This makes alternatives urgent, Molina said, adding that his bill is expected to pass by year’s end.

The County Mayor Charmaine Tavares, Planning Director Jeff Hunt and other officials have been moving in a similar direction, with provisions for small-scale renewable energy installations likely to become part of an updated and streamlined county code now in the works. That would augment the island’s large-scale wind farm projects, the writer reports, noting that Maui’s current land use rules allow small wind turbines only in agricultural districts, where they have recently been sprouting up, mostly at homes or businesses without close neighbors.

''Some people will object to the visual impact, I’m sure; but others will realize that this is a necessary step for us to lose our dependence on fossil fuels,'' commented Director Hunt on the effort to facilitate small wind turbines across the island. Maui Energy Co.’s President Leo Caires, who sold seven turbines last year, cites a number of consumer advantages. A typical 33-foot tall turbine generates 1 to 3 kilowatts at any moment but can produce between 100 and 100,000 under perfect wind conditions. Since the average home needs up to 400 kilowatt hours a month, its prospective electric-bill savings can reach from 50 to 80 percent. Small wind turbines and materials are available for $6,000 to $20,000, but application of a federal wind tax credit can reduce the purchase price by 30 percent. In addition, the combined federal and state solar system tax credits can cover up to 50 percent of the cost.

Molina says the bottom line is that his bill would boost the island’s economy, expanding small wind turbine sales, providing jobs, and reducing household utility bills in the long run, after the initial investment is paid off.   1/7/2010

Resource(s): www.mauinews.com/

Maui Adjusting Zoning Code to the Era of Smart Growth

As the 2008 recession deflated Maui development pressures, County Mayor Charmaine Tavares asked his Planning Department to use the time to update and streamline the three-island county’s outdated zoning code to ensure it fosters smart growth, mixed uses and higher urban densities, reports Maui News.

According to the article, Planning Director Jeff Hunt is confident the work will quickly pay off once the recovery accelerates. While farming and manufacturing still need help, the island’s move into “an information-based economy” means more and more people will want to both live and work in their respective neighborhoods, Director Hunt observed, saying the code’s amendments will promote green construction, renewable energy, and sustainable economic development.

The Maui Planning Commission already has approved a newly drafted provision for the separate residential zoning district to legalize its home businesses, whose owners, such as accountants or Internet salespeople, have no more than one employee — a change many home-based entrepreneurs welcome.

Next in line for code modernization will be business districts. Recently, Maui’s administrative planning officer Joe Alueta presented planning commissions and commissions on the county’s smaller islands of Molokai and Lanai with a five-bill package to expand mixed uses in their business districts, especially by permitting transient vacation rentals or small inns, home wind turbine towers or similar renewable energy installations, and residential units atop or under street-level businesses.

Subsequently, county staff will complete “a set of subtle bills” that will allow administrative rather than council-level renewal of conditional use permits for transient vacation rentals or small inns in business districts, and then planners will look at proposed code amendments for parks and public/quasi-public, industrial and hotel districts. A lot of the work has involved and will involve removal of entire sections of the code, and the addition of graphics and matrixes to make it easily understood by any builder or layperson, added Maui Planning Commission Member Jonathan Star, calling it simple housekeeping.   12/20/2009

Resource(s): www.mauinews.com/

New Highway Project in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, To Follow Smart Growth Principles

“This isn’t so much about building a highway as it is about building a safe and healthy community. Access to jobs, education, health centers and recreation can only strengthen our community,” said Hawaii Island (County) Mayor Billy Kenoi at a press conference on a $35 million allocation from the federal economic stimulus fund (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ARRA). The funds will be used for construction of a 1.7-mile, two-lane road and preservation of a 25-acre archeologically vital tract in Kailua-Kona. The road will accommodate bus transit, and will featuring bike lanes, sidewalks, and a multi-use path.

“We know how important infrastructure improvements are to our community, and we also recognize the significance of this project to the future of Kailua-Kona, West Hawaii and our Hawaii Island,” Mayor Kenoi stated, with Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce Chairman William Sanborn stressing, “The biggest overall issue is that we want smart growth in West Hawaii.”

Called the Ane Keohokalole Highway, or generically the Mid-Level Road, the limited-access artery will run from the north through the fast-growing area enveloped partly by two other roads, alleviating their traffic and converging with them at its south end. It will also facilitate the state’s Kamakana Village affordable-housing project at Keahuolu, help in the Queen Liliuokalani Trust’s commercial development to support its statewide children programs, and stimulate other livability efforts – by the Laiopua 2020 nonprofit to build a community center, by Kamehameha Schools to launch construction of a pre-school, by the West Hawaii Health Center to ensure a permanent clinic, and by the County Parks and Recreation Department to turn the site of a prospective municipal golf course into a regional park.

“This project shows the commitment by government that it no longer just wants to build roads but be a part of building communities,” observed State Transportation Director Brennon Morioka, with Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) Executive Director Karen Seddon pointing to its affordable housing benefits. The Ane Keohokaole Highway project further advances our efforts with Forest City to build the necessary infrastructure to deliver over 1,000 new homes which are affordable to Hawaii’s workforce and lower income households,” she said. “Public-private partnerships such as this are vital to providing affordable housing opportunities and this is a perfect example of government agencies partnering with an experienced developer to help improve the quality of life for the people of Kona.” Hawaii County is already inviting bids for construction, which should start next year and take about two years.   11/24/2009

Resource(s): www.hawconews.com/ ; www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Honolulu Elevated Train Plan Back on Schedule

Delayed in February for several months by route realignment, Honolulu’s plans for a 20-mile elevated train line from East Kapolei through downtown southeast to Ala Moana are back on the December launch schedule, reports Honolulu Advertiserwriter Sean Hao, with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) allowing the $5.5 billion project to enter the “preliminary engineering” phase, a key political victory for both of its most influential champions – Hawaii Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye and Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann.

“The competition for preliminary engineering among our nation’s cities is fierce,” stated Senator Inouye. “This approval is, in large part, a credit to Mayor Hannemann’s administration, and a result of the Honolulu project meeting the stringent federal planning and financial justification requirements.”

Mayor Hanneman felt vindicated in his resistance to opponents of the elevated train system. “Our financial and engineering plans have successfully passed detailed scrutiny by federal transit officials and their oversight consultants,” he commented on the FTA decision. “Today’s announcement takes us a giant step closer to groundbreaking at the end of the year and rail construction that will create hundreds of new jobs in 2010 and thousands of jobs in coming years.”

With the release of the city’s final environmental impact statement (EIS) expected shortly, the inauguration of the line’s initial, six-mile East Kapolei-Waipahu section projected for December 2012, and full 20-mile service likely in March 2019, a Honolulu Advertiser editorial urges the City Council to stand firm behind the project and prevent any further delays. The FTA permission for preliminary engineering work “must not be underestimated,” the editorial stresses, since it clears the way for immediate expenditure of $39 million in federal transit funds, including $4 million in stimulus money, and secures the project’s place in line for a $1.5 billion federal share of construction costs. “Endlessly revisiting past decisions on technology puts critical federal funding at risk. Political bickering, ignoring the analysis already performed, wastes time and money,” the editorial warns. “The FTA approval demonstrates that the professionals have faith in the plans to this point. Now the council must echo that faith by seeing that the project proceeds, on time and on budget.”

Learn more about the Honolulu elevated rail system at www.honolulutransit.org.   10/11/2009

Resource(s): http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009910140319

Residents, Newspaper Speak Out on Proposed West Maui Projects

''West Maui needs smart growth,'' stresses a Lahaina News editorial about a controversial General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC) recommendation for another 5,937 homes on 1,642 acres in the area over the next 20 years, hoping Maui leaders will put the island (county) ''on the road to smart, effective planning,'' and local residents will continue to speak up for West Maui interests.

''Projects must provide affordable housing for residents, and impact fees should be steep to build roads, schools, a wastewater reclamation system for irrigation -- you name it,'' the editorial states, attributing the current infrastructure problems to ''the pro-development'' County Council and Planning Commission in the past 20 years, and expecting officials to make better decisions as new projects begin to move through the approval process.

A recent Planning Commission hearing in Lahaina brought in hundreds of local residents, reports Maui News writer Ilima Loomis, many of them also alarmed by the scale of prospective development.

''We live on an island,'' said resident Gordon C. Cockett. ''West Maui is only a part of that island, and we can't keep growing forever.''

While some area projects met little opposition, the writer observes, the two largest -- Olowalu Town and Maui Land & Pineapple's (ML&P's) ''worker-housing'' in Pulelehua -- continued to inflame and divide attendees, also getting different marks from the Maui Tomorrow group and revealing a gap between county and advisory planners.

Olowalu Town was supported by Olowalu village dweller Ed Kaahul as needed to provide housing and jobs, but opposed by resident Van Fischer as certain to worsen traffic and serve only ''the owners of the property,'' with Maui Tomorrow giving it an ''F'' on a list of five projects the county may include in its general plan update.

''The Olowalu Town project was rated lowest,'' said Maui Tomorrow Executive Director Irene Bowie, ''because it is expected to have the minimum affordable housing required, and because its location is far from jobs in both West and Central Maui.''

In similar testimony, former County Planning Director Mike Foley called Olowalu his ''least favorite'' project, in contrast to his most favorite -- housing in Pulelehua.

''Pulelehua is near many existing West Maui jobs. Olowalu is miles from jobs, and 2,500 to 3,000 people would have to commute every day on an already crowded highway,'' he explained. ''Which project should be supported should be all about location, location, location. Olowalu is a place where growth just does not make sense.''

Since the Planning Commission held a special meeting last month with developers only, to avoid their time-consuming counter-arguments at a public hearing, Makila Land Co. consultant Rory Frampton felt they got no chance to rebut critics.

''We see the Maui Tomorrow and the Mike Foleys coming up again and again,'' he charged, ''making their statements -- some of which are very inaccurate.''

With the next daylong debate on the Maui Island Plan scheduled for August 18, the GPAC is recommending inclusion of 290 acres for 1,500 housing units at Olowalu and reduction of the Puleleula project to 116 acres and 696 dwellings, while the county Planning Department is moving in the opposite direction -- it wants to reduce the Olowalu project to a small ''rural service center'' featuring a few businesses and about 100 residences, and backs the Pulelehua project in its full scope of 279 acres and 1,149 homes. -- Lahaina News, Maui News   8/6/2009

Resource(s): www.lahainanews.com/ ; www.mauinews.com/

Honolulu Hosts Rail Symposium, Prepares for Bidding on Elevated Rail Line

''Every $1 invested in public transportation projects generates approximately $6 in local economic activity,'' says a five-company Honolulu Rail for Growth team on its just-launched web site, ready for international bidding on a $250 million contract to supply train cars and systems for Honolulu's 20-mile elevated rail line -- arching from East Kapolei northwest to Waipahu, then southwest through downtown Honolulu to Ala Moana -- which the city will build in phases between late 2012 and late 2018.

Led by Sumitomo Corporation of America, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Sean Hao, the Honolulu Rail for Growth team includes Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, KinkiSharyo International, Thales Transport & Security and Wasa Electrical Services.

The other bidding competitors that showcased their products and technology during the third annual Honolulu Rail Transit Symposium on the planned rail included Montreal, Canada-headquartered Bombardier, the world's largest train and business aircraft maker, and Italian corporation Ansaldo Breda, with a French entrant, Alston Transport, also possible.

''We are thrilled to be participating in this bid,'' said Sumitomo Corporation of America vice president of transportation systems and equipment Gino Antoniello, ''and believe very strongly that we bring a unique mix of expertise and proven experience to this landmark project in Hawaii's history.''

Reviewing transit benefits on its Honolulu project web site, the team says commuters taking the future rail could reduce their individual carbon (CO2) emissions by 4,800 pounds per year, ''equal to a 10 percent reduction in a two-car household's footprint,'' with each family saving ''roughly $935 per month in transportation costs,'' which means more than $11,000 a year in its regained disposable income.

Since each train can carry 300 passengers while running every three minutes during rush hours, which amounts to taking 200 cars off the roads every three minutes and accounts for some 34,000 fewer cars in use each day.

As a result, the state will cut tailpipe emissions, ease traffic and conserve energy.

At the same time transit-oriented development around and near rail stations will provide varied-income housing and spur business creation and expansion, with 11,000 jobs created over the next eight years alone and more later. All this ensures growing ridership and cost-effectiveness.

The city envisions eventual extensions of the line to the international airport, Waikiki, University of Hawaii-Manoa, and Kalaeloa, expecting ridership to reach 30,000 a day by 2030.

More at http://honolulurailforgrowth.com and www.honolulutransit.org. -- Honolulu Advertiser   6/24/2009

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Planners Reject Bill Limiting Zoning Provisions in Maui Industrial Zones

Introduced last year by Maui County Council Chairman Riki Hokama, now retired because of term limits, a bill to remove ''stacking'' -- or ''pyramiding'' -- provisions from the light-industrial (M1) and heavy-industrial (M2) zoning ordinances, which currently open these zones to apartments, restaurants or anything allowed under lower B1, B2 or B3 business zoning, was opposed by more than 20 speakers and backed by none at a Maui Planning Commission hearing, reports Maui News writer Harry Eagar, and the commission voted unanimously to advise the council against the removal as contrary to the smart-growth principle of mixed uses and other local interests.

''We've got a disconnect here,'' said Commission Member Warren Shibuya about the bill and smart growth. ''It would be very embarrassing if this body approves this.''

The bill, the critics argued, would reclassify hundreds of residential and commercial properties in industrial zones as nonconforming uses, which could obstruct their repair even after a storm or a fire, hurt their financing and insurance prospects, or scare off potential buyers. Real estate lawyer Tom Welch said 41 of 54 small businesses along Alamaha Street, which ''is the heartbeat of our economy,'' would suddenly become nonconforming uses.

Commercial developer Jac Kean feared that without current M1 and M2 zoning flexibility, it would take longer to find new tenants for any commercial vacancies, with properties showing empty spaces and risking decline.

Asked about the bill's purpose, the writer observes, administrative planning officer Joe Alueta explained that since light-industrial zoning is relatively cheap, commercial users sometimes crowd out industrial ones, who in turn, especially those who need storage for construction equipment or heavy machinery, seek the cheapest sites elsewhere, usually in rural areas.

Expressing his belief that the county should designate proper land for genuine industrial uses as part of overall planning, he said the planning department will propose such a new M3 zoning category, which would allow only industrial uses and accomplish the bill's goals without changing any present property status.

A day later, a Maui News editorial said the planning commission did right to vote against the bill. -- Maui News   5/27/2009

Resource(s): www.mauinews.com/

Honolulu Will Reduce Off-Street Parking Near Planned Rail Stations

Eager to launch construction of the elevated 20-mile Honolulu Rail Transit (HRT) electric line with a 6.5-mile East Kapolei-Aloha Stadium segment along its city-centered route's northeastern arch in December, the City Council has just established a process for new higher-density transit-oriented development (TOD) zoning around planned stations, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Sean Hao, the bill already signed by Mayor Mufi Hannemann and ''partly designed to eliminate or reduce off-street parking'' in each station's 2,000 feet radius.

Although the city shows 3,800 bus stops within a 10-minute walk for 95 percent of the island's residents, and although its HRT environmental impact study draft predicts that almost 90 percent of the 95,000 weekday trips will taken by passengers reaching stations on foot and by bus or bike, with bike racks at all stations and trains, the writer notes, officials will provide just 4,100 parking spaces at the segment's four park-and-ride lots, a number unlikely to suffice for the 10 percent arriving at stations in cars.

''We're not trying to look for parking right in the corridor because that kind of defeats the purpose,'' explained City Transportation Director Wayne Yoshioka. ''The whole point is to change modes. The hope is that in urban areas we have a lot more (people) walking to transit stations, (and) for some of the suburban riders the hope is they don't drive in -- they'll take a feeder bus in.''

Nevertheless, with the elevated track columns and station entrances also projected to eliminate more than 1,000 on-street and off-street parking spaces along the whole 20-mile route, the writer observes, Director Yoshioka promises the city will address any parking problems once the $5.4 billion commuter train service is phased between 2013 and late 2018. According to a situation, the city may implement neighborhood parking programs, with permits for residents; establish leasing arrangements with nearby property owners who have excess weekday parking capacity; build additional parking facilities; and institute off-street parking for retailers to absorb on-street parking spillover.

For HRT details see www.honolulutransit.org. -- Honolulu Advertiser   3/30/2009

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com

Maui County Rezones 603 Acres for Upscale Resort Project

Though generally uneasy, the Maui County Council voted 5-3 to rezone 603 acres along the island's southwestern shore for an 800-unit upscale Makena Resort project debated for decades -- the supporters ultimately swayed by the need to save and create jobs in a time of economic crunch, with a 20-percent tourism drop over the past three months; the opponents troubled by the endeavor's uncertainties and its socioeconomic and environmental impact, reports Maui News writer Chris Hamilton, quoting Council Member Michelle Anderson, who told the majority, ''It's not smart growth, and it's not smart decision-making.''

Morgan Stanley brokerage and developer Everett Dowling promised an $800-million investment in the project within 15 years, but the firm's just reported $2.3 billion fourth-quarter loss may undercut its financial viability, and the resort's master plan doesn't match the Kihei-Makena Community Plan, she observed, adding, ''They're going to have a private beach club, so they don't have to mix with the local population to lead their ultraluxury lifestyle.''

Council Members Jo Anne Johnson and Danny Mateo, shared her views.

''I hope we don't reach the point that the financing will dry up, so the jobs we are promising disappear,'' commented the former, while the latter pointed out that the developer still hasn't submitted his pledged written guarantee to build 400 affordable housing units elsewhere in the districts, on an as yet undetermined tract.

Such units are among the top conditions of the 44 set for the project four years ago by the Land Use Committee.

Since the development is certain to affect 1,800 acres and wipe out a pristine environment, the writer notes, the other key conditions include studies on the area's archeology, water supply and prospective traffic.

These conditions helped Council Member Mike Molina overcome his doubts and vote for the project.

Also citing his belief that the current economy makes it dangerous to block business, he said, ''People say it's hard to say no, but sometimes it's even harder to say yes.''

The four other resort supporters felt the same.

Council Members Joe Pontanilla, Bill Medeiros and Mike Victorino focused on working families and their financial hardships.

A father of six, Bill Medeiros said he and his wife had to work three jobs to stay afloat, a situation many other people face.

''Unless you are in a position like that, you will never know what kind of pain they are suffering,'' he stressed, with Mike Victorino warning the developer, ''If I don't see things done the right way, you're going to hear from me.''

And Council Chairman Riki Hokama said even if the Makena Resort project isn't a silver bullet, he trusts it will help the county raise revenue and address its social and infrastructure needs. -- Maui News   12/21/2008

Resource(s): www.mauinews.com/

Election Puts Honolulu Commuter Rail Project Back on Track

Six weeks before the November election, the prospect for Honolulu's 20-mile elevated commuter rail rather than a shorter two-lane elevated highway seemed to weaken, with a municipal primary forcing a runoff between the top $4.3-billion-rail supporter, Mayor Mufi Hanneman, and his opponent, City Councilwoman Ann Kobayaishi, but on a wave of enthusiasm for Hawaii-born Senator Barack Obama, who won 71.9 percent of votes statewide, Honolulu voters chose Mayor Hanneman and rail by comfortable 57.9 and 52.6 margins.

The mayor, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Peter Boylan, is ready for his tough dual task of maintaining the level of services, despite a recession-rooted drop in tourist-based revenue, and launching rail construction -- the largest public works project in Hawaii history.

''The economy plays right into my background. I've dealt with this type of stuff before and I just think that kind of experience will help me steer the city through this,'' he said, citing his years as director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. ''Obviously nothing can stimulate this economy more than the rail transit project.''

University of Hawaii political scientist Neal Milner puts the mayor's challenge in a national context.

''What he's facing is what every major politician, mayor, governor or president is facing now. You've got pressing demands for the future that you want to get started (now) in an increasing fiscal crisis,'' he observed. ''The typical way out of it, without raising taxes, is to cut the stuff you can cut and that's not rail.''

The voter endorsement of rail, reports Advertiser writer Sean Hao, reopens the question of the best line alignment.

Mayor Hanneman has originally pushed for a route along Honolulu International Airport and the Pearl Harbor Naval Base, but lacking a majority in the nine-member City Council, he secured the decisive fifth vote for rail last year from Councilman Romy Cachola, who insisted on a route through his Salt Lake district about a mile to the north.

Realignment would increase the project's price from $4.3 to $4.5 billion -- including $821 million and $862 million, respectively, in contingency costs -- but now at least five council members, though not Councilman Cachola, indicate willingness to look at the airport route again as more useful to both Honolulu area residents and tourists.

The Federal Transit Administration has already approved the start of the project's preliminary engineering phase, with the city expecting to launch construction next year, receive full federal funds in spring 2011, and begin full service by 2019. -- Honolulu Advertiser   11/6/2008

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

November Mayoral Election Could Determine Future of Honolulu's Transit Program

As the top proponent of commuter rail rather than a freeway to ease long-term Honolulu area traffic, first-term Mayor Mufi Hannemann unexpectedly fell ''a hair short'' of a straight majority in the September 20 electoral primary, and having won 49.4 percent of the vote is now facing a November 4 reelection runoff against Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi, who won 30 percent of votes, with another rail opponent, smart-growth doubter Panos Prevedouros, getting the remaining 18 percent.

''I've been concerned about this rail project, how it affects our economy and people's property taxes, and the visual impact on the city,'' said the councilwoman, with the mayor confident he will prevail in November, reports Associated Press writer Mark Niesse.

''Now it's one-on-one,'' the mayor said, ''We're just delaying the inevitable. Yes, we'll have to campaign, and we'll do that.''

The campaign, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Sean Hao, will focus on a ballot asking voters if they favor ''establishment of a steel wheel on steel rail transit system,'' a project the mayor is promoting, while opponents are backing a freeway with high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes.

Citing various sources, including a 2006 Alternatives Analysis by Parsons Brinckerhoff consultants, the writer notes that a roughly 20-mile elevated rail between East Kapolei and the Ala Moana neighborhood could cost some $3.7 billion, increase transit ridership from 5.4 to 7.4 percent by 2030, while reducing traffic delays by 11 percent and keeping rush-hour traffic increases on the H-1 Freeway at 57 percent over its 2003 volume -- increases due to a projected housing surge on the Ewa plain from about 25,000 to 60,000 within two decades.

Rail opponents argue that a shorter, 12-mile elevated HOT-lane freeway between the Waiawa area and the Iwilei neighborhood would relieve congestion more, questioning its city cost estimate of $2.6 billion.

Rail critic Cliff Slater, the writer reports, thought such a freeway would reduce traffic because more people would form carpools and ride buses that would travel much faster in the HOT lanes.

''Today, you really can't do much without individual transportation,'' he declared. ''Public transportation is just not there for most folks. To think that we're going to change a 90-year trend, I think, is wishful thinking in the extreme.'' Both the city and Parsons Brinckerhoff denied his and others' allegations of a bias in cost and effectiveness calculations of rail vs. freeway.

The Federal Transit Administration and ''its independent project management oversight team,'' wrote city Director of Transportation Services Wayne Yoshioka in an e-mail to the Advertiser, ''concluded that the content of the (Alternative Analysis) is unbiased.''

And rail supporters also stress the economic benefits of areas around prospective stations and the need to contain sprawl.

''Highways serve cars and that facilitates the development of more single-family dwelling units, whereas rail is more likely to lead to transit-oriented development, which is moderate- to high-density, mixed-use, walkable communities,'' observed University of Hawaii urban and regional planning professor Peter Flachsbart. ''That's the difference I see.'' -- Honolulu Advertiser   9/21/2008

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Developer Seeks Approval for High-Density Redevelopment in Honolulu's Kewalo Harbor District

Confident of the common benefits of dense redevelopment of its 60 acres at Ward Centers in Honolulu's Kewalo harbor district, report Honolulu Advertiser writer Andrew Gomes and Star Bulletin writer Nina Wu, Chicago-based General Growth Properties asked the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) to approve an overall conceptual master plan for the 20-year project, which ''could be as much as 80 percent residential,'' with 4,300 mid-rise and high-rise housing units, including 860 deemed affordable, 1.2 million square feet of retail, commercial and office space, and five acres of open space, mostly in three landscaped pedestrian plazas.

The focus on housing reflects General Growth's intent to create a transit-oriented urban village, where people can live, work and play, and whose high density would relieve development pressures on rural parts of the island, said its vice president of development Jan Yokota, stressing, ''To be a neighborhood you have to have people living there.''

The residential towers may reach 400 feet and the company counts on some setback reduction and on a tower base increase from the presently allowed 45 to 65 or 75 feet.

Both variances are in tune with HCDA's current rule amendment process.

The first would let the company set the towers' narrow sides perpendicularly to and near sidewalks, which would minimize obstruction of water and inland views and encourage walking; the second would allow it to enlarge and diversify retail, restaurant, and other commercial space under the housing floors of each tower, which would also bring in more pedestrians and their business.

Still, noted vice president Yakota, the project's initial phase won't start before 2011 and depending on the market trends the proportions of residential and commercial space could be changed.

HCDA has 2000 days to review and decide on the Ward Master Plan.

In absence of a decision, plan approval becomes automatic. Details at www.wardneighborhood.com and http://hcdaweb.org/ward-neighborhood-master-plan. -- Star Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser   4/17/2008

Resource(s): http://starbulletin.com/ ; www.honoluluadvertiser.com

Maui Council Vote Sends Honuaula Housing Project to Mayor's Desk

Reflecting a roughly equal split among some 30 speakers at its six-hour meeting, the Maui County Council cast two 5-4 votes to rezone 670 upland acres less than a mile from the ocean for Honuaula Partners LLC's proposed 1,400 housing units, including 700 affordable ones and an extra 250 workforce units required offsite, with Council Member Mike Victorino praising the council's hard work on 30 conditions to ensure the project is smart growth, but Council Chairman Riki Hokama predicting a judgment day for its backers as they face the electorate this November.

The chairman, reports Maui News writer Chris Hamilton, is serving the last of his maximum five consecutive terms, while all eight council members are up for reelection.

The five who voted to send the rezoning measures to County Mayor Charmaine Tavares for approval stressed the need for lower-cost housing and new jobs as decisive in their decision.

Council Member Mike Molina said he was elected partly on the promise to pursue affordable housing for his constituents, agreeing that the project isn't ''perfect,'' but calling his support a vote on ''a social issue.''

Council Member Gladys Baisa noted that in a time of national economic downturn and higher cost of living, the county cannot reject the opportunity to get less costly housing, Council Member Joe Pontanilla hoped it would bring some Hawaiians back, and Council Member Danny Mateo saw the project as the first large one to validate the county's Residential Workforce Housing Policy, which sets a 40 percent minimum requirement for new residential development.

On the other side, Chairman Hokama and Council Members Jo Anne Johnson, Michelle Anderson and Bill Medeiros argued that the project's impact on the environment, county resources and quality of life would outweigh any benefits.

Council Member Anderson, who represents the district, said her constituents oppose the project 3 to 1, with their area roads, parks and other infrastructure and services already strained to the maximum.

Together with Council Member Johnson and Tomorrow Maui Executive Director Irene Bowie, she asked for a new environmental impact statement, since the present one is 20 years old.

Mayor Tavares reserved his decision until he reviews the 30 council conditions for the developer and consults his staff, the writer reports, adding that one way or another, the project would need future approvals for its phases II and III, when scrutiny would focus on detailed plans for roads, structures, grading, landscaping, water drilling and, eventually, building permits. -- Maui News   3/20/2008

Resource(s): www.mauinews.com/

Gov. Lingle Hopes to Make Stand Against Development With Proposed Turtle Bay Resort Purchase

''This is the place where we didn't just talk about sustainability, we didn't just talk about smart growth, we actually did something about it,'' stressed Republican Governor Linda Lingle at a meeting with some 600 Turtle Bay area residents in Kahuku, discussing her recently proposed purchase of the Turtle Bay Resort -- where Kuilima Resort Co. wants to build five hotels, with some 3,500 rooms and luxury condo units -- to preserve its 880 rural acres, along with five miles of the pristine oceanfront along Oahu's northern tip.

The purchase would allow the state ''to plant our flag in the sand'' against rampant development, the governor observed, saying she has increasingly realized Hawaii cannot base its economy on land consumption and linking her proposal to a $238 million Credit Suisse mortgage foreclosure suit against Kuilima Resort last December for late principal and interest payments.

She also assured about 100 resort employees in attendance that the state can preserve Turtle Bay land without endangering the resort's hotel and their jobs.

Among options for keeping the hotel in business is giving its operational concession to a management company, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Eloise Aguiar, noting that Kuilima Resort officials have been looking for a buyer or financing partners for the past two years and are open to talks with the state.

Sponsored by Democratic Senator Bobby Bunda, legislation to facilitate the purchase was just sent from the Senate to the House, the writer notes, quoting Senate Water and Land Committee Democratic Chairman Clayton Hee, who said it allows the governor ''to make good'' on her proposal.

Comments at the meeting varied.

While Priorities First group representatives thought that before spending millions on the hotel property, the governor should consider other needs, including education, steady jobs, affordable housing, transportation and agriculture, the Defend Oahu Coalition and Save Kahuku Beach group members backed the purchase.

And Kahuku Community Association President Junior Primacio reserved judgment until he hears more details form all sides, including the resort's owners. -- Honolulu Advertiser   3/5/2008

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Bills to Purchase Oahu Land for Preservation and Smart Growth Development Moving through Hawaii's Legislature

Suggested by Republican Governor Linda Lingle in her State of the State speech last month, a bill to buy the 880 acres of Turtle Bay Resort's hotel at the Oahu northern tip, to preempt Kuilima Resort Co. plans for another five hotels with 3,500 rooms and other units, advanced from the Senate Water and Land Committee to the Committee on Way and Means, a move strongly supported by Koolauloa-North Shore Alliance and the Defend Oahu Coalition, whose co-chairman Mark Cunningham said, ''We're for smart growth. The time is long gone for development of this magnitude on this island.''

Sponsored by Democratic Senator Bobby Bunda, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Eloise Aguiar, the bill (SB 2423) is a key part of a package that would also save some 2,330 acres of agricultural land in three other areas from possible development.

Kuilima Resort Co. opposes the bill, said its CEO Nicola Jones in a written comment, asking lawmakers to bear in mind that the resort has more than $400 million in loans, employs 700 people, and needs to fulfill its obligations to the community under a 1986 agreement with the city and the county.

She also objected to any legislation that would let the state acquire the resort through eminent domain, arguing that during the discussions the resort must ''be allowed to continue to process permits and governmental approvals and to take any other steps necessary to preserve its entitlement.''

Since senior gubernatorial policy adviser Linda Smith said the governor prefers to acquire Turtle Bay land through negotiations rather than eminent domain, Senate Water and Land Committee Democratic Chairman Clayton Hee expressed willingness to leave her sufficient latitude, hoping for a concrete result before the legislative session ends.

Otherwise, he said, the legislature ''is inclined to move forward with eminent domain if that's the only available (avenue) to move forward.''

To gather public input on the proposed Turtle Bay land purchase, including five miles of the pristine northern coastline, reports Honolulu Star-Bulletin writer Gene Park, the governor will host a community meeting March 4 in Kahuku.

Area civic groups have their advice for the state ready.

''Failing to act now,'' stressed the Koolauloa-North Shore Alliance in a statement, ''may obligate the state to invest billions of dollars later for a new highway to an area that will no longer be rural.'' -- Honolulu Advertiser, Star-Bulletin   2/10/2008

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/ ; www.starbulletin.com/

Developer Outlines Plan for Honolulu Urban Village

In tune with the Hawaii Community Development Authority's (HCDA) ''live, work, play'' principles, Chicago-based General Growth Properties envisions smart-growth transformation of four blocks on its 60 acres in the Ward area of Honolulu into a dense ''urban village'' where residents would walk to offices, shops and restaurants along a tree-lined central plaza and another two on its flanks, all three running southwest to perpendicular Auahi Street -- just 100 yards from the ocean -- which will become a main boulevard, with outdoor seating and public art.

General Properties aims for more housing and jobs per acre, and lower energy and car use thanks to future bike paths and a light-rail station on adjacent Queen Street, reports Honolulu Star-Bulletin writer Nina Wu, quoting company senior vice president Thomas J. D'Alesandro IV, who calls today's Ward a fragmented collection of pieces.

''It's fully functioning, but it's just not functioning as one place,'' he said, believing the neighborhood ''can be a lot more'' and gain ''substantial value'' from the envisioned 20-year redevelopment.

Most of its old buildings would be razed and some of the 300 businesses would have to relocate, to make room for a mix of housing, from affordable units to luxury high-rise condos, at least 100 new businesses, including restaurants and specialty boutiques, and office buildings, entertainment facilities, landscaping and wide sidewalks.

The company, the writer adds, will gather input on its preliminary redevelopment outline at a community open house March 11, expecting to submit a more detailed master plan to the HCDA in April, and to break ground for first-phase construction in perhaps three years. -- Star-Bulletin   2/7/2008

Resource(s): http://starbulletin.com/

Wailea 670 Project Moves Forward with Maui County Land Use Committee Vote; Would Be First to Comply With Workforce Residential Housing Policy

After 11 months of scrutiny and hot debates over a Honua'ula Partners LLC application to rezone 670 upland acres on Maui's southwestern coast for 1,400 housing units, 80,000 square feet of commercial space and a golf course, the Maui County Council Land Use Committee voted 6-2 for approval of rezoning when it meets as the full council December 21, with many residents hailing the Wailea 670 project for its promised 50 percent affordable housing share and some $40 million in road, park and school fees, but many others considering its community benefits overstated and the environmental impact underrated.

Initially approved as a series of gated communities with 2,600 housing units and two golf courses at the end of the 1980s, but later scaled down by the developer, reported Maui News writer Claudine San Nicolas in July, Wailea 670 is the first major project to comply with the county's new Workforce Residential Housing Policy, which requires developers to set aside between 40 and 50 percent of their units for earners in the lower median-income bracket.

The prospect for 700 such units and for substantial developer investment in local infrastructure outweighed misgivings among the six council members who moved the project to the rezoning vote next month.

''We're losing so many young families on this island,'' said Land Use Committee Chairman Mike Molina, blaming the lack of low-cost housing and noting that from now on all developers will have to make major contribution before their projects are approved.

''Seven-hundred affordable units is nothing to sneeze at,'' agreed Council Member Danny Mateo, who previously chaired the council's housing committee that drafted the workforce housing policy, stressing that he has never favored high-end golf courses or homes, but that ''(t)he reality is somebody has to pay for affordable units.''

Council Chairman Riki Hokama and Council Member Jo Anne Johnson, who voted against the recommendation to rezone the land for Wailea 700, remain unconvinced.

Concerned about island water supplies, the chairman was especially opposed to developers' plans for their own water system and wastewater treatment facility, saying he ''can wait for this development,'' because other proposed projects better address the community's economic, environmental and sustainability goals.

Council Member Johnson simply called the developer's application incomplete, saying, ''We wouldn't be having to go all through this if everything was in proper order.''

On an out-island trip and absent at the meeting, the ninth committee and council member, Michelle Anderson, has long criticized the application and pressed for further details and conditions.

Among other things, she requested that the developer's offer to build 250 of the 700 affordable units offsite include a binding promise to begin their construction ''immediately'' upon project approval, though she would rather see all his lower-cost units built on the site, ''with at last half of them being houses for sale, not apartments for rent.''

In a September 17 letter to the Maui News, she wrote: ''This segment of our population is the work force that keeps our economic engine running. They deserve real housing opportunities, not rental apartments in an industrial zoned area.... If rental apartments in an industrial area is the best offer we can get for our work force residents from a massive development proposal like Wailea 700, it's time for the county to condemn land and build the housing ourselves.'' -- Maui News   11/21/2007

Resource(s): www.mauinews.com

Honolulu Officials Want Local Input on Planning and Design for New Transit Communities

The upcoming light-rail system between East Kapolei and downtown Honolulu, about 20 miles west, will certainly spur mixed-use transit-oriented development (TOD) within a quarter-to-half-mile radius of some 20 stations, turning ''sleepy bedroom communities into teeming new hubs of 24-hour activity,'' but their look and feel ultimately depend on local input in the planning and design process, observes Honolulu Advertiser writer Gordon Y.K. Pang, reporting on a consensus among officials and experts who seek the strongest possible public involvement in city-sponsored workshops and related meetings.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann expects residents to keep telling the planners and builders in detail what they want around transit stations, said city planning and permitting director Henry Eng.

''From everyone we've spoken to on the Mainland -- Denver, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco -- (we heard) a critical element of successful projects is continuous and inclusive community participation,'' he stressed. ''And we're taking this advice very seriously.''

With the first TOD workshop slated for two stations in very different parts of Waipahu, area native and Land Use Research Foundation Executive Director David Arakawa pointed out that most of the successful TOD projects feature mixed uses and multiple-story buildings so ''you're not going to have one- or two-story single-family homes around there anymore,'' but still each of the Waipahu stations ''is going to be unique.''

Accomplished professional planner Lowell Chun and University of Hawaii-Manoa urban and regional planning associate professor Peter Flachsbart offered residents a few words of experience and warning against passivity.

''While there are some basic rules of thumb on what should go in the area around transit stops, every neighborhood on Oahu, as in any other place in the world, is different, with different people with different values and different goals and dreams,'' said the planner, noting that if they ignore the input workshops, others ''who may know very little about the area, how they live and what they care about, may do something they think is good for somebody else but which may not be'' for this particular neighborhood.

Professor Flachsbart put it this way: ''The planning process calls for participation among a number of stakeholders -- planners, transit agencies, developers, bankers and the community. If the community doesn't show up, then something might be built that's not to its liking.'' -- Honolulu Advertiser   10/21/2007

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Plan Would Help Hawaii's Teachers Buy Homes

With an unbridgeable gap between the nearly $700,000 single-family home median price and the $42,000 teacher starting salary considered a key reason behind Hawaii's loss of more than 1,500 public school teachers each year, Hawaii State Teachers Association President Roger Takabayashi is hoping to limit the drain with a unique affordable-housing bill, under which the state would buy both new and old homes for resale to qualified teachers at 20 percent of the value, while keeping 80 percent ownership.

''The intent of this is not for investment purposes, but rather to encourage teachers to put down roots in communities where they teach,'' he said. ''This bill offers one way to alleviate a burden from teachers' backs, so they can focus on teaching and not so much on survival.''

First proposed last year, reports Builder Online writer Jenny Sullivan, his legislation stalled in committee due to budget problems, a setback he wants to avoid in the 2008 legislative session, which will open in July, by reintroducing the bill together with an appropriation measure that would increase state funds for teacher rental housing, offered mostly in rural communities.

President Takabayashi thinks his proposal to help teachers become homeowners may advance next year, the writer observes, because the state could tap the expanding foreclosure market and buy houses at reduced prices.

The bill, she adds, would require teachers to pay property taxes, mortgage payments and insurance, own no other property elsewhere, and work full-time for public schools. -- BuilderOnline.com   10/19/2007

Resource(s): www.builderonline.com/

Maui to Consider Local Business Protection Bill

Following a May decision by the Kauai (Island) County Council, the archipelago's first jurisdiction to ban big-box stores larger than 75,000 square feet, Maui (Island) County Council Chairman Riki Hokama introduced a similar bill to protect small local businesses, with the council's Planning Committee referring it to review by other key entities, including the Maui Planning Commission, the Maui County Cultural Resources Commission, and the Hana Advisory Committee.

The bill, reports Maui News writer Melissa Tanji, would cap big retail construction or expansion at 90,000 square feet, and limit their grocery sections to 20,000 square feet and 25,000 products.

''I don't have a problem being considered protector, if that's what it takes to protect local people and the economy,'' said Chairman Hokama, acknowledging that people seek discounts, but pointing to the negative aspects of Wal-Mart or Target dominance over their marketplaces.

''Is it worth it?'' he asked. ''It's time for us to address these hard questions.''

Maui, the writer reports, has at least three certified superstores, including a 136,000-square-foot Costco, a 141,892-square-foot Wal-Mart, and a 150,500-square-foot Home Depot.

The Wal-Mart store's manager, Chanda Keawe, disputed local resident Sylvia Cabral's remarks about the company's dependence on cheap imports from China, arguing that her store has 53 Maui suppliers and vendors, and that 40 percent of the goods in her company stores on the archipelago are locally made.

She called the proposed bill ''anti-competition and unfair.''

Prior to the Planning Committee meeting, the writer observes, island residents received anonymous mailers in support of size limits for big stores, asking addressees, ''Do we want Maui, Hawaii, or anywhere USA?''

Council members and union leaders disassociated themselves from the mailer, while former county environmental coordinator Rob Parson took a line from its text, saying, ''We are beginning to look like anytown USA.''

Adding that the mom-and-pop stores he had known are gone, because they ''couldn't compete, plain and simple,'' he stressed, ''I don't think the bill is anti-business; I think it will enhance local business.'' -- Maui News   8/18/2007

Resource(s): www.mauinews.com/default.aspx

Survey: Public Wants Development, But Not at Expense of Environment

Conducted for the Hawaii 2050 Project, a sustainability initiative launched and funded by the legislature's Democratic majority, a new SMS Inc. public opinion survey shows that ''(t)he 'great middle' tends to take a balanced view, wanting economic development, jobs and housing, but not at the cost of environmental degradation,'' with most of those respondents leaning ''toward environmental protection as a higher value than being pro-business,'' writes Honolulu Advertiser Public Affairs Editor Jerry Burris, calling the project an example of ''anticipatory democracy,'' focused on questions of what future ''do we want'' and how to make it real.

''Outside the great middle there is a substantial minority who are strong environmentalists, while only a tiny minority described themselves as extremely pro-business,'' the editor writes, noting that project leaders hope ''that ideas generated through community meetings, surveys, studies will translate into specific and direct legislative proposals.''

The ''dramatic streak of 'green' or pro-environmentalist thinking'' revealed by the survey, with majorities or pluralities willing to pay higher taxes or accept other sacrifices for environmental protection, energy independence and other sustainability goals, he observes, might encourage lawmakers ''to make strong, even direction-changing suggestions'' for the state's future.

Still, he advises caution toward such surveys' results.

''They are, in effect, aspirational measurements, in which folks describe an ideal world and what they would give to achieve it,'' he points out. ''The task for those in the policy trenches is to take those aspirations and convert them into reality in a way the majority of people would accept.'' -- Honolulu Advertiser   8/17/2007

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Ka'u Realtors Say Land Preservation Proposal Could Jeopardize Community's Smart Growth Plan

A prosperous rural district the late 1970s, Ka'u on Hawaii, the archipelago's largest island, has deteriorated together with the sugar industry and the Sea Mountain Golf Course in Punalu'u, and now local jobs and revival depend on mixed-use redevelopment of the 433-acre golf course area by the Sea Mountain Five Partners group, while a proposed purchase of its 150 acres by Hawaii County for preservation threatens the community's smart growth prospects, argues Kona Board of Realtors spokesperson Kay Kolt in the Honolulu Hawaii Reporter, which usually disdains smart growth.

''We support the idea of smart growth, which in essence this development adheres to,'' she writes, calling smart growth a movement ''that is in some ways very common sense.''

She lists several elements of smart growth -- pedestrian-friendly design and street connectivity; pedestrian/human scale development; the creation of a community, mixed uses and easy access to services on foot; home designs conducive to neighborly atmosphere; care for the environment; use of native vegetation; and cluster development ''to enhance community interaction and reduce the cost of infrastructure that is typical of a sprawl development.''

She also quotes other board members.

''As Realtors, we have to protect the rights of real property owners,'' said Realtor Sharly Ward, noting that although the golf course area is zoned for 2,800 units, the developer group ''is offering a much less dense plan in keeping with what the community wants.''

The board's smart growth expert and Ka'u resident Rollie Litteral said, ''There are no jobs here, nothing to keep anyone. People must drive hours to get to Kona or Hilo for work (and) necessities. This plan provides a mixed-use community, self-sufficient so that the sidewalks aren't rolled up at 5 p.m.''

Another Ka'u resident, Realtor Jackie Parkinson supports the plan because she also believes that ''a mix of cultural, residential and commercial is the best way for any place to grow, so people don't have to get on the highway and drive 40 miles back and forth for their means.''

Board Vice President Ed Lewis opposes County Councilman Bob Jacobson's proposal to conserve 150 golf course acres because it ''will do nothing to help manage the growth that is inevitable, and is happening right now in this area'' without balance and long-term economic sustainability prospects.

Realtor Ken Hughes agrees, sure that a ''well-planned resort will provide jobs and clean up and preserve one of the island's great places,'' making the district better for all residents.

In the conclusion to the board's testimonial for smart growth and the golf course area redevelopment, Realtor Kolt asks who will pay for the failing homes, sewer and water systems, and other infrastructure in Punalu'u if not Sea Mountain Five and notes that the group is partnering with French ocean explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau and his Ocean Futures Society to create marine and land protection programs, which will include educational opportunities for Ka'u children. -- Hawaii Reporter   7/16/2007

Resource(s): www.hawaiireporter.com/default.aspx

Conservationists, Residents Cast Wary Eye Toward Oahu Countryside Developments

Slated for the central Oahu countryside as alternatives to dense Honolulu and the emergent urban center on the Ewa-Kapolei plain west of Pearl Harbor, the 3,700-acre Waiawa Ridge project and the nearby 1,248-acre Koa Ridge project -- one expected to break ground for its first phase this year; the other in a prolonged abeyance -- may eventually spawn some 10,000 and 7,500 homes, respectively, the number and the location equally worrisome to conservationists and area residents.

''What these projects share in common is just more of the classic sprawl, more bumping up against the carrying capacity we have on this island -- limited water, limited energy, limited waste capacity and all that,'' said Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter Director Jeff Mikulina, recalling a city-state agreement to direct growth into the Ewa plain. ''Where's this planning,'' he asked, ''is this just a free-for-all where ... people can develop in Central, we're going to develop in Ewa, we're going to develop wherever people have land?''

Dismayed that the Koa Ridge project, by Castle & Cooke, was to take some of the state's best rural land, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Gordon Y.K. Pang, the Sierra Club sued the Land Use Commission over its 2002 approval of the project's initial 3,200 homes on 763 acres, and won both in the Circuit Court in 2003 and in the Hawaii Supreme Court in 2006.

Due primarily to the company's inaction, the commission dismissed the development petition last month, with its Vice President Carleton Ching promising a new petition ''real soon,'' perhaps somewhat changed.

The Sierra Club suit ''delayed the project but it hasn't stopped it,'' noted Mililani/Waipio/Melemanu Neighborhood Board Chairman Dick Poirier, whose group has warned about auto traffic from both projects and asked for access to Honolulu's future light-rail station some five miles south.

Meantime, the writer continues, Waiawa Ridge Development LLC announced it will invest almost $400 million in roads and other infrastructure for the project, with the first $95 million going to its 1,700-acre first phase.

That phase will include construction of 5,000 homes, a 90-acre commercial-industrial complex, a neighborhood convenience center, an elementary and a middle school, two parks and two community recreation centers, with a 1,000-acre open space featuring a golf course, pedestrian paths and bikeways.

Waiawa Ridge President and CEO Alan Arakawa pointed out that the company is required to set aside 30 percent of the homes for families that have 80 to 140 percent of Oahu's median income.

Still, the writer observes, in contrast to business leaders, including officials from Bank of Hawaii and from the Pacific Resources Partnership of construction labor and contractor groups, who support both projects despite the housing market slowdown, environmentalists are troubled.

Although Waiawa Ridge developers have all the permits to launch the project, they should step back and reassess their decades-old plans, said Sierra Club Director Mikulina, stressing, ''Conditions have changed.'' -- Honolulu Advertiser   5/29/2007

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Kaua'i County Council KO's Big Boxes

''Big-boxes, regardless of what company, when they come into town they do cause mom-and-pop stores to close,'' said Kaua'i County Councilman Mel Rapozo as the council voted 5-0 to ban stores larger than 75,000 square feet on the island of Kaua'i, the first such law on the archipelago, with its initial target likely to be a Wal-Mart plan to expand a 119,000-square-foot store into an almost 200,000-square-foot Supercenter.

Mayor Bryan Baptiste, who proposed the ban, said in a statement, ''As an island, it's important that we initiate discussion on the challenges we face and decisions be made to set parameters for Kaua'i's future. Today we set a building block on how we should grow.''

Residents in the audience, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Jan TenBruggencate, argued for and against the ban.

Some wore light-blue T-shirts reading, ''Pass Big Box Bill,'' others sported dark-blue T-shirts responding, ''Let Kaua'i Choose.''

Concerned about people on fixed incomes, resident Alfred Sarmento commented, ''We need the alternative. Our county council has decided that we don't need the lower prices.''

Resident Martha Ryker was ''angry that they have not listened to their constituents,'' adding, ''It's been 3-to-2 against this bill throughout. Limiting store size adds to urban sprawl.''

Council members acknowledged the community split, calling their choice very difficult.

''There are pros and cons to the big-box issue,'' observed Mayor Baptiste, while Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimure, who introduced the bill primarily to protect Kaua'i's rural character, said, ''I pray and hope that we're making the right decision here,'' adding, ''At 75,000 (square) feet, there's still a lot of opportunity here.''

Next to vote on similar big-box size measures may be the Maui County Council, the Honolulu City Council, and the Hawaii County Council, the writer reports, noting that the latter would ban superstores of more than 90,000 square feet, including at least 20,000 square feet of grocery space. -- Honolulu Advertiser   5/25/2007

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Rezoning Moratoriums Approved for Hawaii's Kona, South Kohala Sectors

With roads and public facilities increasingly strained on Hawaii, the archipelago's largest island, the new Hawaii County Council voted 7-1 on two resolutions to delay all rezoning for its northwestern sector of Kona and South Kohala -- a total of 1,176 square miles, or 752,640 acres -- till September and next January, respectively, ''sending a message to developers in those high-priced real estate markets,'' notes Honolulu Advertiser writer Kevin Dayton, that their proposals ''will face tough scrutiny this year, if they move at all.''

The Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii and the Leeward Planning Conference, an organization representing major developers on the island, argued against the planned moratoriums.

The foundation criticized the county's inability to implement its general and community development plans by funding ''the necessary infrastructure,'' and suggested charging developers impact fees, creating local improvement districts with higher taxes, or even raising all property taxes to pay for new infrastructure and services.

The conference cautioned that if the council blocks all rezoning, it may lose prospective development impact fees and disperse developers throughout the island, which would mean more sprawl.

Councilman Donald Ikeda agreed with these objections and cast the sole vote against the resolutions.

But the council's planning committee chairman, Councilman Angel Pilago, praised the resolutions as a ''paradigm shift,'' stressing that ''those who come in and make changes to our community must help us with our needs, and they must help to put in infrastructure first.''

Council Chairman Pete Hoffmann, who represents South Kohala, introduced the resolution for the area moratorium last month, prompted by the identical concerns of his constituents.

He said they are frustrated by ''traffic congestion, a lack of affordable housing, the loss of open space and the perception that rapid urbanization will lead to a loss of community, culture and place in their district.'' -- Honolulu Advertiser   1/5/2007

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Honolulu Citizens Voice Support for Light-Rail Line at Council Meeting, Ask Officials to Show Vision and Move Forward on Project

With the Honolulu City Council likely to choose the route and length of the long-delayed light-rail system before Christmas, officials say they could build a $3.6-billion, 20-mile line between Kapolei in the west and Ala Moana in the east with federal funds and an excise-tax increase effective in January, while a $4.8-billion, 28-mile line reaching from Kalaeola to the University of Hawaii-Manoa would require additional steps, including the sale of development rights around the 30 planned stations.

The proposed light-rail routes and station locations were dictated by current local needs and the potential for high-density development within a quarter-mile station radius, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Mike Leidemann, quoting Department of Transportation Services chief engineer Toru Hamayasu. ''We looked first at areas where there is already a high density,'' he said, ''and then at areas where a higher general density would be permitted in the future under existing plans.''

The 28-mile line, the writer notes, would include a station on former Navy land in Kapolei, where long-range plans envision thousands of housing units. Running to the university campus at its eastern end, that line draws strong support from faculty, staff and students. Polled online, more than 85 percent of 1,100 of them stressed they need light rail, with some students now parking at school at 6 a.m. and sleeping in their cars until classes open.

Regardless of their personal route preferences, most of the 100-plus residents, officials, developers, business owners, teachers, students and others at the daylong City Council hearing -- some having waited up to eight hours to speak -- simply wanted light rail. ''We need you guys to have the wisdom to make the hard decision,'' said Ewa Beach resident Tesha Malama. ''We need for you to do the right thing for O'ahu and eventually the state.''

Retired urban planner Tom Papandrew felt the same. ''Have some vision and have some guts to move forward,'' he urged. ''You have the opportunity to go forward on a decision now so my children won't be sitting in this room 15 years from now still asking another council to get us a transit system.''

And University of Hawaii Agriculture Professor Brent Buckley spoke for many when he pointed to congestion costs and the impact on the quality of life. ''Many critics say this costs too much money,'' he said. ''Yes, these are staggering amounts of money, but I haven't heard anybody put a cost on all the time I lose on the road away from home. Is my time away from work nothing? I don't believe that.'' -- Honolulu Advertiser   12/8/2006

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Honolulu Officials Back Rail as Best Long-Term Transportation Solution on Island, But Decision Remains on Final Route

Urged by residents, labor leaders and other officials, including University of Hawaii-Manoa Chancellor Denise Konan and Democratic Congressman Neil Abercrombie, the Honolulu City Council's Transportation Committee passed a bill (79) that calls rail ''the best selection for the long-term needs and demands of our growing island population,'' with Mayor Mufi Hannemann optimistic the full council will make ''a final decision on the rail and the route by the end of this year.''

Still, the mayor would prefer council members to choose between the two routes proposed by his administration -- a 20-mile, $3.6 billion line from Kapolei to Ala Moana or a 28-mile, $4.6 billion line to Manoa -- instead of also taking another look at two costlier ones and asking for a fifth option.

''We're moving forward,'' he told Honolulu Advertiser writer Mike Leidemann, ''but I think they are making it a lot more complicated than it should be.''

Most of the more than 20 speakers at the transportation committee hearing, the writer notes, called for construction of the 28-mile rail line. ''It will cut down on the sprawl of people who have to keep moving further and further out of town and drive to their jobs,'' said retired schoolteacher Nancy Young, while Chancellor Konan pointed out that the full line to Manoa would benefit not only thousands of students and faculty members, but also many others who visit the campus for theater and sport events.

Congressman Abercrombie urged fast action, stressing, ''The sooner the city and county of Honolulu submits the locally preferred alternative to the Federal Transit Administration, the greater the possibilities for drawing down desired federal funding.'' The public meetings on Bill 79 start November 13, with the final decision expected in late December. -- Honolulu Advertiser   11/3/2006

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

What's Good for Hawaii's Housing Market May Be Bad for Open Spaces, Congestion

Although higher interest rates and home prices have taken many buyers out of the market, the demand has not yet weakened enough to hold back developers from planning some 60,000 units over 20 years for Oahu, most of them high-rises in Honolulu and huge master-planned neighborhoods of single-family homes and townhouses throughout the island's center and leeward side.

This, notes Honolulu Advertiser writer Andrew Gomes, may be good for the economy, jobs and homeownership hopefuls, especially since the state mandates affordable housing shares for many projects, but it's ''often bad'' for open spaces, taxpayers charged with infrastructure expansion costs, commuters in ever-worse congestion, and children in overcrowded schools.

State Democratic House Housing Committee Chairman Michael Kahikina, who wants developers to focus on smart growth, to provide workforce housing and minimize traffic increases, says, ''You cannot stop growth. People are still going to make babies.''

Nevertheless, residents worry about the impact of such massive projects as the 10,000-home Hoopili development in Ewa or a 5,000-home complex near Waipio.

''Are we to become like Los Angeles?'' asks longtime Pearl City resident Hank Higuchi. ''I really can't see how our infrastructure can handle it.''

Waipio Gentry condo owner Kathleen Kaiser is dejected by sprawl inroads into central and leeward Oahu. ''It does not work on an island with a finite availability of land,'' she cautions. ''I believe we are now at the tipping point of overdevelopment.''

With experts predicting slower home price increases next year, which would dampen demand and delay some construction, the writer reports, the 2050 Sustainability Task Force, created by lawmakers last year, is holding a series of community meetings and planning studies to determine how much long-term development Hawaii can withstand and support. -- Honolulu Advertiser   9/19/2006

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Honolulu Leaders Agree It’s Time for Public Transit -- But Next Steps Are Still Under Debate

For the first time in some 30 years Honolulu leaders really agree that Oahu needs public transit to save the island’s growing population from gridlock -- most of the 900,000-plus residents amassed in its capital area -- but they still debate who should do what first. Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s administration wants the City Council to wait till November for a staff recommendation on a preferred transit alternative, while the council already sees rail as the best choice and is pressing the administration for “a transit-oriented development overlay district” measure, which will guide construction along routes.

Without such a proposal for land use changes near future rail stations, report Honolulu Advertiser writer Robbie Dingeman and Honolulu Star-Bulletin writer Crystal Kue, Council Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz may delay the half-cent transit tax surcharge scheduled to raise the island’s excise tax to 4.5 percent in January. “I am open to implementing the tax at a later date until they’re ready,” he said after the council’s Zoning Committee passed two related resolutions. One asks the administration for a transit-oriented development measure by November 1; the other would allow hotel projects near major transit centers.

The overlay district legislation would encourage higher-density, pedestrian-friendly projects around rail stations, helping curb sprawl, with Zoning Committee Chairman Charles Djou stressing the need to pass it early and avert “a huge danger” of land speculation, as property values near stations will greatly increase.

Nevertheless, special mayoral assistant Daniel Orondeker called such legislation “premature if we don’t know what we’re building and where we’re building it,” noting that the city couldn’t break ground before 2009. He told the council that the mayor “is very much aware” of the transit-oriented development program’s importance, but that creation of a special land-use district at this time is “putting the cart before the horse.” Transit-oriented development, he observed, can fail “if it’s not done properly and it can be a detriment to the community if the community does not want it in that particular area.”

City Planning and Permitting Deputy Director David Tanoue echoed the statement, saying, “We believe individual land-use plans at specific locations should include the involvement of the community and be tailored specifically to the community’s needs.”

A day later, a Honolulu Star-Bulletin editorial agreed with the City Council that since the administration is most likely to recommend rail “as the key component” easing Honolulu traffic “any changes in land-use rules need to be in place as routes, stations and other facilities are determined,” but also cautioned that delaying the half-cent tax to pay for transit is counterproductive.

“A rail line surely will shift the landscape of Honolulu,” the editorial said, pointing out that the line can help contain urban growth in already developed areas, save agricultural and open land, revitalize depressed neighborhoods, spur businesses and affordable housing, and reduce car use. “These issues -- pivotal to the success of rail transit -- should be integrated hand in hand with planning the nuts and bolts of a transportation system,” the editorial concludes. “The process is time consuming and should begin now.” -- Honolulu Star-Bulletin   8/24/2006

Resource(s): http://starbulletin.com/ ; www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Island Developers Work to Keep Focus on Community and Sustainability With Construction Projects

As Hawaii's real estate market fever persists, two large local firms attest that fast development and sustainability ''are not mutually exclusive,'' reports Hawaii Business Magazine writer Jacy L. Youn, noting that Maui Land & Pineapple Co. head David Cole has often argued for the linkage and quoting Grove Farm President and CEO Warren Haruki, who called his business philosophy very similar and pledged to continue satisfying various housing needs while ''pushing forward on projects that promote smart growth.''

Grove Farms, the writer recalls, had already begun work on a 600-acre mixed-use project in Puhi on the southeastern coast in the 1980s, but was required by Kauai County to sell 60 percent of units as affordable and when hit by the market crash several years later, it nearly went bankrupt. Rescued by Maui Land & Pineapple Co. owner Steve Case in 2001, Grove Farms had sales of $21.7 million in 2004 and $63 million last year, the most among the Top 250.

Confident that the trend will continue, though at a slower pace, Warren Haruki reaffirmed the company's commitment to community and sustainability. ''We don't want to just sell real estate. We want to build communities that the local people can live in and be proud of,'' he said, stressing a focus on Kauai residents.

As an example, he mentioned a shared appreciation clause in sales contracts, under which a buyer selling in the first three years must cede half of the appreciation amount to the company. ''That's in order to prevent and deter speculation,'' he explained.

As to its community-oriented efforts, the writer adds, Grove Farms has been working with nonprofits to restore koa woods and other native plants on some of its rural tracts, built nene goose habitat around its new water purification plant, and created a 5-acre taro farm. ''The amount of taro being grown in the state has been diminishing,'' said Warren Haruki. ''So we're trying to attract long-time taro farmers to take over and further expand the taro production, hopefully to about 20 acres by the end of the year.'' -- Hawaii Business Magazine   8/10/2006

Resource(s): www.hawaiibusiness.com/

West O'ahu Campus Project Receives Warm Welcome: Plan Includes Town Center, Housing Mix for Faculty, Students, and Workforce

The newest among several projects that together will add more than 40,000 housing units over two decades on the Ewa Plain, about 15 to 20 highway miles west of central Honolulu, the University of Hawaii's proposed West O'ahu campus, augmented with and surrounded by a total of 4,041 faculty, student, workforce and market-rate units, some in a 843,000-square-foot mixed-use town center, has full community support as balanced and responsive to local needs.

''I just think UH-West O'ahu is the most important piece of a healthy, successful community that you sometimes have to trade off,'' said Makakilo/Kapolei Neighborhood Board Chairwoman Maeda Timson. ''This is a well-worth-it trade-off to me.''

Under the preliminary plan, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Andrew Gomes, Texas-based Hunt Building Co. would buy and start developing 287 acres of state land, completing the first segment of the $150 million campus and 616 market-rate homes by 2009, and using the proceeds for further construction. That would include 761 housing units for faculty and students, 355 affordable units for the work force, and another 2,209 market-price single-family homes and townhouses, including those in the commercial center.

Requiring Honolulu County zoning changes, the plan must also be approved by the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, whose vice chairman Alvin Tanaka hopes the deal will give the state a campus built mostly with private money.

Republican Governor Linda Lingle proposed to invest $33.5 million in bond money to help the project, but lawmakers omitted the amount in the state budget earlier this year, with university officials saying it will be crucial next year to move on the plan. -- Honolulu Advertiser   7/11/2006

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Demand for Million-Dollar Honolulu Condos Drops; Developers Plan to Focus on Lower-Priced Units

After three years of unprecedented boom, Honolulu's luxury high-rise condo market still makes the most of its initial impetus, with owners happy to move into the newest tower units on lower floors while crews continue interior work above, but demand for the million-dollar condos is beginning to slack and local expert Ricky Cassiday predicts developers will now focus on buyers able to spend between $400,000 and $600,000. Cassiday thinks Honolulu condo developers are unlikely to sell for less because of the inflated costs of land, materials and labor.

The epicenter of the city's high-rise condo construction is the Kakaako neighborhood, just southeast of Chinatown, reports Honolulu Advertiser business writer Andrew Gomes, noting that its first three condo towers were built by local Nauru Phosphate Royalties Development Inc. in the 1990s.

Having taken over its master plan and two remaining parcels, Miami-based Crescent Heights opened a 247-unit tower last January, selling at an average price of $1 million; let the initial residents into a 369-unit tower, where upper-floor interior work will be completed in mid-May, selling at an average price of $800,000-$850,000, with three $1.2 million-$1.5 million units and seven $1.7 million-$2.6 million penthouses still unsold; and plans to start a 300-unit tower nearby soon, but prices will be lower.

All together, the writer finds, developers plan completion and construction of about a dozen condo high-rises in the area in the next five years. -- Honolulu Advertiser   3/29/2006

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Resort Home Sales Surge as Hawaii Braces for More Luxury Developments

On a hunt for second or retirement homes, wealthy mainland investors, mostly West Coast residents, pushed the Hawaii resort market through the roof in 2005, with sales up 14 percent and prices 38 percent from the previous year; an estimated grand total of $3.1 billion in 2,370 transactions, or a $1.33 million average sale price; and a record $20.5 million sale of a 35,000-square-foot (about 0.8 acre) lot -- bought in 2002 for $12 million -- in the gated Kuki'o oceanfront golf community on the Big Island.

In response, developers are rapidly expanding both new and older resorts on all the major islands or planning major expansions in the near future, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Andrew Gomes, quoting local real estate researcher Ricky Cassiday, who says, ''The amount of new (development) coming in is changing the market. It's being priced above the resales, and it's bringing up the whole average.''

The writer cites two typical examples. The asking price for a luxury home with a pool in Pineapple Hill Estates at the Kapalua Resort on Maui is about $5 million. And the new Wai'ula'ula subdivision at Mauna Kea Resort on the Big Island, on the market since last October, sold contracts for 59 of its 102 planned homes, at prices ranging from $1 million to $3.5 million. -- Honolulu Advertiser   2/28/2006

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Maui Council Approves Zoning Change for Kapalua Resort; Requires Builder to Provide More Affordable Housing Units in Related Project

After a thorough environmental review process and several public hearings in the past four years, the Maui County Council approved an internal zoning change for the 23,000-acre master-planned Kapalua Resort in Maui Land & Pine pineapple fields on the island's northwestern coast, allowing the largely agricultural company to use 925 acres for its upscale Kapalua Mauka project of 690 million-dollar-plus homes and related amenities, while requiring it to boost the number of low-to-moderate-income units in the 895-home Pulelehua project, planed on 312 acres near the resort, from 277 to 450 units.

Expected to be completed in 10 to 15 years, reports Honolulu Advertiser business writer Andrew Gomes, Kapalua Mauka will feature a mix of luxury single-family homes, villas and condominiums, parks, trails, a new golf clubhouse, a mountain adventure center, and perhaps a general store, while the 196-room Kapalua Bay Hotel will be replaced by a 155-unit time-share and condo complex.

Still subject to the county's approval, the denser Pulelehua project on former pineapple fields around Kapalua Airport, with more than half of its units meeting county affordable-housing guidelines, will include an elementary school, community gardens, parks and walking trails.

If approved, the writer notes, its construction could start next year. -- Honolulu Advertiser   2/23/2006

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

HCDA Selects Local Group to Redevelop 36.5 Kakaako Waterfront Acres into ''Dynamic Urban Community''

In line with its long-pursued goal of turning Kakaako waterfront -- just a mile south of Honolulu's governmental core -- into a ''centerpiece for a dynamic urban community,'' the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) chose local A&B Properties over three other competitors for the task, giving the highest marks to the firm's $650 million plan to redevelop 36.5 state-owned industrial acres around Kewalo Basin as a walkable, mixed-use urban village where people can live, work and play.

With HCDA evaluation criteria including a project's potential as a gathering place and a source of state revenue, plus its economic viability, timetable and developer qualifications, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Andrew Gomes, the A&B Properties plan scored 94 points, in comparison to the others' 92, 89 and 69.

The plan's key elements include 947 condos -- at least 20 percent affordable to moderate-income families -- in three 20-story towers and connected six-story buildings with ground-floor retail; an amphitheater for Hawaiian dance and music; a pedestrian promenade to the nearby University of Hawaii medical school campus, and another one along the harbor's edge toward a projected pedestrian bridge to the basin's marina on other side; expansion of boat slips; a dining, retail and entertainment area and other local restaurants; and a total of about 2,600 parking stalls.

''We believe,'' said HCDA Chairman James Kometani, ''that (A&B's) Hawaii roots and their business successes will ensure that the Kakaako waterfront will not only serve as a gathering place for Hawaii people, but will also serve to create new opportunities and strengthen Hawaii's economy.''

Over the next several months, the writer reports, HCDA and A&B will negotiate specific development terms, with the firm now offering the state $50 million for residential-use land, plus half the unit sales proceeds above a certain level, and $600,000 a year in rent for the commercial space. If an agreement is reached, the public will be asked for input to refine development details; otherwise HCDA will consider the other plans in the order ranked, the second best coming from Kewalo Nui Partners and involving Texas-based Hunt Building Corp. -- Honolulu Advertiser   9/15/2005

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Delay in Oahu's New Housing Projects Pushes Price of Existing Homes to New Highs

Unexpected declines in Oahu's inventory and sales of new housing, by 43 and 28 percent during the first half of this year -- one of the hottest for Hawaii market demand -- helped push its average new home price from $468,405 to $544,829 since June 2004, while inducing a four-percent increase in sales of previously owned homes, whose median price jumped some 25 percent to a record $610,000 in May.

''My initial thought is: What's the matter with developers?'' says Hawaii HomeLoans researcher Ricky Cassiday. ''They're not pumping out homes this year.''

According to his analysis, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Andrew Gomes, the situation stems from a delay in a 225-unit condo tower construction in Honolulu's Kapiolani neighborhood and a shortage of Castle & Cooke single-family homes in central Oahu.

But the condo-tower developer will begin to execute binding sales contracts later this year, about the time Castle & Cooke will start selling its new 275-home subdivision in Makakilo, the writer notes, quoting the researcher, who expects sales to ''bounce back up,'' too, because ''the demand is there.'' -- Advertiser   8/30/2005

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Kaua'i County Mayor Outlines Land Transfer Plan to Build Affordable Housing

With the median price for a single-family home on Hawaii's northernmost island of Kaua'i at $699,500 in June, and the median income for a family of four at $59,000, Kaua'i County Mayor Bryan Baptiste announced Project Mana'olana (Project Hope), under which the state would transfer a total of about 102 acres to the county, to build 575 affordable housing units in four communities on both sides of the island.

''In talking with people across the island about housing opportunities, so many of them felt that there is no way they or their children would ever be able to afford a home on Kaua'i,'' the mayor said. ''I felt compelled to create rays of hope for our residents.''

The county, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Jan TenBruggecate, will conduct public sessions late this month to gauge ownership and rental preferences and pricing expectations. Potential buyers would have to take one of the county's homeowner education classes, the writer notes, to ensure that the lower-cost housing remains affordable.

Safeguards may include buy-back clauses or inflation-rate caps on subsequent sale prices, the mayor said, stressing that Project Mona'olana is not an investment venture, but a housing program. -- Advertiser   8/10/2005

Resource(s): http://honoluluadvertiser.com/

Prime Location Brings Residents Back to Kaka'ako Neighborhood

Having deteriorated from an active, multi-racial, mixed-use neighborhood into a rundown light-industrial district over the decades after 1945, while adjacent areas flourished, Kaka'ako has emerged as a hot residential market in the past several years, with thousands of people choosing it over the standard big-yard home in the suburbs, reports Honolulu Advertiser transportation writer Mike Leidemann, quoting one of them, real estate office worker Arshad Khan, 34, who says, ''The location is great. It's close to Waikiki, downtown (Honolulu), everywhere.''

Planners expect Kaka'ako to become one of the island's fastest-growing and most-desirable urban villages by 2030, with more than 25,000 newcomers boosting its population by 178 percent. The neighborhood's recovery was first envisioned in the mid-1970s, when the state created the Hawai'i Community Development Agency (HCDA) and invested several hundred million dollars in area streets, sewers and other infrastructure.

''Residential development was always part of the vision for Kaka'ako, long before people started talking about smart growth or the new urbanism,'' points out HCDA Executive Director Daniel Dinell. ''Now, you're finally starting to see the manifestation of that vision.''

This, the writer notes, includes almost a dozen projects -- rental units, urban lofts and $1 million-plus condos -- under construction or on the drawing boards.

One high-rise project's representative, Larry Fukunaga, says 84 percent of buyers are ''local empty-nesters,'' who ''want something more comfortable, more convenient and easier to take care of than what they have now.''

On the other hand, some younger professionals feel left behind. ''Most people of my age who work in town want to live close by, even if it means living in a smaller apartment,'' observes 28-year-old architect Kelly Irvine. ''They don't want to spend all their time in a car. Kaka'ako is a great place because it's right next to the theaters, the bars, the beach and the jobs. But the market right now is out of our price range.''

As others also worry that the development surge without more transit may make the neighborhood less pedestrian-friendly, Director Dinell tries to assuage concerns. ''There's a perception that it's only about luxury high-rises, but that's not the case,'' he responds, stressing that ''about 30 percent of the units have been reserved for rentals or affordable sales'' and that his redevelopment agency insists on pedestrian-friendly features in public and private projects alike.

''We've got very generous sidewalks, big shade trees and street-front designs that encourage activity,'' he notes, adding that a local school also will be necessary some day, ''though it may not look like a traditional suburban school with a parking lot and playing field.'' -- Honolulu Advertiser   5/22/2005

Resource(s): http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Developers Adjust Proposed Maui Projects to Include Focus on Diversity, Sustainability

Floated since the mid-1980s, plans for two huge projects just three miles apart on the southwestern coast of Maui have been much scaled down over the years and adjusted for diversification and sustainability, with Makena Resort vice president Roy Figueroa asserting that its current expansion proposal meets many of the 41 conditions set by the Maui County Council's Planning and Land Use Committee last year, and Honua'ula project developer Charlie Jencks stressing that his plan ''embraces all the smart growth concepts that create communities.''

They both hope, reports Maui News writer Harry Eagar, for an eventual extension of Pilani Highway a few miles south for better access to their projects -- the first reduced from the original 5,000 to 1,500 housing units on 153 acres, with 25 percent deemed affordable; the other, from 2,650 to 1,400 units on 670 acres, with 20 percent for lower-income residents. They both also hope to move forward through the hearing and approval process this year, the writer notes, providing some additional details on the Honua'ula project.

The Honua'ula project would include a golf course, mixed-use villages, its own water supply and wastewater treatment plant, and a path system that would put residents within a 5-to-10-minute walk of local services. These services would be available in five ''village mixed use (VMX) districts,'' each under two acres, with businesses, multi-family housing and often apartments atop stores. -- Maui News   5/21/2005

Resource(s): www.mauinews.com/default.aspx

University of Hawaii's Sea Grant College Expands Mission to Include the Built Environment

Helping to protect coastal watershed, beaches and coral reefs for the past 30 years, the University of Hawaii's (UH) federal Sea Grant College Program is quickly reaching toward urban design and development problems, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Mike Leidemann from its ''Implementing Smart Growth in Hawaii'' workshop, quoting local Sea Grant director E. Gordon Grau, who said, ''When you live on the ocean, you look upriver and uphill to see what's affecting you.''

It's only natural, noted UH Center for Smart Building and Community Design head, architecture professor Steve Meder, saying, ''We're expanding the original environmental mission to include the built environment.''

Attended by National Sea Grant Office representative Jim Murray, EPA smart-growth specialist Lynn Richards, and Texas Coastal Watershed Program director John Jacobs, the workshop brought together more than 130 local participants seeking the best ways to manage growth, ease traffic congestion, create walkable neighborhoods and build affordable housing.

Administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Sea Grant program, the writer reports, is encouraging its extension agents to help local communities overcome ''the effects of decades of poor planning and urban sprawl.''

Kapolei, some 16 miles west of Honolulu, ''is at a tipping point'' between a new city and another regional shopping area, said Honolulu planner Robert Stanfield, noting that Sea Grant's involvement in the town's earlier smart-growth planning session may help it move in the right direction.

In Kailua, about 10 miles northeast of Honolulu, Sea Grant may open an office to assist residents in dealing with both residential and commercial growth pressures. And in Kawaihae, on the chain's biggest and southernmost island of Hawaii, Sea Grant experts are advising residents on how to deal with traffic, high home prices and other quality of life issues. Agent Sara Peck said a recent survey found most residents aware that coral reefs face the greatest threat from land-generated pollution. -- Honolulu Advertiser   4/13/2005

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Reduction of Impact Fees Central to Debate Over Oahu's Affordable Housing Crisis

Alarmed by Oahu's median home-price jump from $295,000 to $505,000 since 2000, Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties managing director Scott Bradley opined in The Honolulu Advertiser that the island should fight its affordable housing crisis by removing ''the artificial'' development costs ''created by impact fees, taxes and an inefficient approval process'' and by following the smart growth examples of the Ward and Kakaako districts, while protecting its environment-dependent quality of life.

This brought him a derisive riposte from free-market Grassroot Institute of Hawaii senior policy analyst Don Newman, who agreed in a piece sent to the Hawaii Reporter that impact fees, taxes and regulations stem affordable housing and must be reduced, but called rural preservation a ''pipe dream'' and scorned ''the idea that we must embrace 'smart growth','' announcing, ''The problem is that the environmentalist-socialist mindset has become so all-pervasive that even people who should know better buy into it.''

The target of his tirade, Coldwell Banker director Bradley argued that developer impact fees ''disproportionately drive up the costs for first-time buyers and buyers of lower-priced properties, while increasing home equity for existing homeowners in the neighborhood.''

Noting that new service and improvement costs ''should not be placed on new home buyers alone,'' he urged adoption of mainland ideas ''for creative financing, efficient government approval and new models for community planning.'' He also wrote, ''Hawaii's growth has to include a more efficient use of land, safeguards for the environment and open space, more attractive development, viable transportation options, and in urban areas, new neighborhoods that are more walkable and compact.'' -- The Honolulu Advertiser   2/2/2005

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/ ; www.hawaiireporter.com/

Honolulu Officials, Residents Look at Many Options for Proposed Transit System

Mindful of Honolulu's three failed bids to create regional transit, officials and residents are determined to scrutinize and fine-tune each detail of the current $2.8 billion plan for a 23-mile system running southeast at least to Manoa and west to Kapolei, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Mike Leidemann, noting that the goal is ''to improve mobility, encourage patterns of smart growth and economic development, and offer an alternative to those who would rather not drive or cannot afford the cost of vehicle ownership and operation.''

At recent public meetings in Honolulu and Kapolei, officials and planners told the audience that residents should identify the best transit route and mode, with options including enhanced bus service, a rail line, and a managed lane for buses, carpools and toll-paying vehicles.

''We're trying to choose the alternative that makes the most sense to the highest number of people,'' said city chief transportation engineer Toru Hamayasu.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann added, ''If we do end up going with a rail option, buses are going to have to be a big part of it as feeder lines. We'll want those feeders to get people as close to the stations as possible.''

The public, the writer notes, has another three weeks for comments on the broad plan, after which Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas experts and will prepare conceptual designs for buses, light rail, monorail and a magnetic levitation line; together with financial analysis, cost estimates, traffic and transit use forecasts and environmental impact studies.

''We will start looking at the engineering of different alignments,'' said Parsons project director Mark Scheibe. ''We'll figure out what they cost, where the stations will be, where it will be elevated or at grade.''

After public hearings next November and December, the City Council will select the preferred alternative and will begin collecting taxes for the project in January 2007. Construction may be launched in 2009 and completed by 2015. -- Advertiser   1/18/2005

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Quality of Life Emphasized at Kona Kohala Chamber of Commerce Conference

''Real wealth is defined by quality of life'' said Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Institute managing director and Hawaii native Kyle Datta at the Kona Kohala Chamber of Commerce's conference in Waikoloa -- on the archipelago's largest and southmost island of Hawai'i -- asking the more than 120 business leaders and other attendees to follow smart growth and focus less on material goods and more on the local tradition and uniqueness because it ''would be a shame if Kona (its west-coast region) became another Aspen, CO, or Long Island, NY.''

Echoed by chamber president Eric von Platen Luder, who also stressed the need ''to get people thinking about the link between business and the environment'' since both ''the environment and the culture are our biggest assets,'' the guest speaker said smart growth promotes environmentally sound, energy-frugal ''green'' building and neighborhood designs and variety of transportation options, including pedestrian and bicycle paths.

With Mayor Harry Kim's executive assistant Andy Levin impressed by the conference's unexpectedly high turnout, chamber officials promised to make it an annual event.   11/21/2004

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Mall or Rural Community Shopping Center? O'ahu's North Shore Residents Looking for Balance in Proposed Sharks Cove Project

''No mall at Sharks Cove,'' read bumper stickers distributed by Pupueka Village residents opposing a $17 million shopping center proposed by Honu Group for their scenic O'ahu North Shore stretch -- a state marine conservation district -- but Group CEO Mona Abadir decries the word ''mall'' as negatively charged and calls the project ''smart growth'' for its economic benefits and the company's readiness to help the community to preserve and enhance Sharks Grove.

The terminology is important, observes Honolulu Advertiser North Shore writer Will Hoover, noting that well-known big-wave surfer Ken Bradshaw, asked if he wants the mall, replied, ''A mall, no. But a shopping area with a bank and a post office -- hey, that would save me 10 miles a day.''

Surf contest promoter Randy Rarick agrees that the neighborhood lacks some services, yet he considers the proposed business density too high, citing many residents who think the same but wouldn't fight a scaled-back project.

Honu Group president Tom Applegate describes the 53-shop project -- with mostly one-story buildings some 40 feet from each other and 60 feet from the highway, with a 220-car underground garage, turn lanes, benches, landscaping and a high-tech sewage treatment plant -- as ''a rural community shopping center.'' Confident the concept fits the North Shore Sustainable Communities Plan, he promises to address local concerns at a series of public meetings.

Nevertheless, the North Shore Neighborhood Board ended its recent session, where vocal project critics dominated among some 300 attendees, by passing a resolution asking the state to make the developer run a full environmental impact study. -- Honolulu Advertiser   11/4/2004

Resource(s): http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Kapolei Commercial Development Shifts to Mixed-Use After Input from EPA Team

As Hawaii seeks greater sustainability, Kapolei Property Development president Donna Goth envisions a mixed-use Phase II for Campbell Estate in Kapolei, augmenting the planned 2 million square feet of commercial space with 300 residential units, pedestrian walkways and bicycle paths, a new direction she partly credits to January advice from visiting smart-growth advocates, including U.S. EPA's Development, Community & Environment Division Director Geoffrey Anderson.

Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting Director Eric Crispin, who brought the guests to a meeting on the company's zoning request, says the project's Phase II offers ''not just commercial but live, work and play'' opportunities, and ''shows a paradigm shift both from the regulatory agency side as well as the private development side.''

He tells Honolulu Advertiser writer Rod Ohira that one of the phase's smart-growth components already approved by City Managing Director Ben Lee is a 60-foot-wide drainage canal with depth reduced from 50 to 10 feet and banks planted with trees. The canal's pedestrian and vehicle bridges will connect the complex to the mixed-use Mehana project nearby, being built by D.R. Horton-Schuler Division and the Kalaeloa Partners investment group.

The Mehana project will feature two-to-three-story buildings with housing atop ground-floor businesses, along with 1,150 single-family homes. Calling both projects examples of smart growth, director Crispin says, ''They're addressing a lot of concerns by generating business and employment opportunities where people live. As someone once said, the best commute is being there.'' -- Honolulu Advertiser   10/28/2004

Resource(s): http://honoluluadvertiser.com/

State Transport Director Sees Need for Elements of Smart Growth in Scenic Highway Improvements

Although Maui's scenic Honoapiilani Highway around its northwestern horn will be widened and realigned away from the shoreline, the planning and cultural, historical and environmental reviews will take about eight years, said Hawaii Transportation Director Rodney Haraga at the Maui Hotel Association's annual meeting in Wailea, cautioning, however, that adding road lanes never eases congestion for long, and asserting, ''Smart growth is the way we need to plan our communities.''

With more lanes, ''all we're doing is attracting people or encouraging people to drive,'' he observed, emphasizing the need for better planned housing development and better connections between adjacent communities, because a lot of people have to use state roads even for very short trips.

Haraga pointed out, reports Maui News writer Ilima Loomis, that in some Honolulu neighborhoods, drivers enter the freeway for a quarter-mile to reach a destination just a few blocks away. An efficient transportation system, he added, should make it easier for residents to leave their cars and walk in their neighborhoods. -- Maui News   10/7/2004

Resource(s): www.mauinews.com/

O'ahu Urban Village Plans: Heavy on Cars, Light on Transit

A $100 million redevelopment of its Ward Village Shops area into a pedestrian-oriented ''urban village'' of 218 rental apartments above street-level retail, proposed by Victoria Ward Limited for the four-block Victoria Ward Centers in the Kaka'ako neighborhood, could have ushered in true ''smart growth'' if it included a mass transit option instead of a seven-story garage for 1,100 cars, stresses Honolulu Advertiser transportation writer Mike Leidemann, pointing out that on land-short O'ahu, high density and transit are not only smart, but a necessity.

''Cars are less necessary; buses, trams, bikes are more logical,'' he writes, noting that now all pedestrians in the Ward Centers area ''are moving warily as they cross streets crowded with cars and sometimes frustrated drivers.'' He encourages Victoria Ward officials to take cars off the main street altogether, put the big garage away from the centers, and move people around by buses, trolleys or even a monorail. This would complement efforts by developer Ken Hughes, who is making his plan for a $360 million mixed-use redevelopment of the nearby Pier 2-5 area of Honolulu Harbor dependent on construction of a streetcar line between downtown and a new Pier 2 parking garage.

''Mass transit is so central to Hughes' project that he has threatened to pull out if the streetcar idea can't be made a reality,'' the writer observes, calling on Victoria Ward for a similar solution. And if Auahi Street ''could be cleared of all private vehicles,'' he concludes, ''(t)hat would be the really smart approach to the new growth.'' -- Honolulu Advertiser   8/10/2004

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/ ; www.victoriaward.com/

Work Begins on Honolulu's New Rapid Transit Line; Hybrid Gas-Electric Buses Planned for Route

Under a 14-year plan to ease the Honolulu area's road congestion with a 25-mile Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line between Kapolei west of the city and the University of Hawaii in the Manoa neighborhood southeast, contractor Hawaiian Dredging began site preparation for six stations along the line's initial 5.6-mile downtown-waterside segment through Kakaako to Waikiki.

The work, reports Honolulu Advertiser urban writer James Gonser, includes sidewalk reconstruction, new landscaping and lighting, placing new signs, and building crosswalks.

Spending $31 million from its own budget on the initial segment, the city was just authorized by an O'ahu Metropolitan Planning Organization oversight committee to seek $20 million in federal money, the writer notes. He adds that the BRT system will use hybrid gas-electric buses, which will reduce air pollution even further. -- Honolulu Advertiser   7/6/2004

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Coalition Nears Funding Goal to Preserve 1100 Acres of Scenic Oahu Property

Once proposed for 500 homes, the 1,129-acre Pupukea-Paumalu property on Oahu's scenic North Shore will likely be saved from development by a public-private coalition that found itself within $1 million of the $12 million purchase, with North Shore Community Land Trust official Blake McElheny saying, ''Like in any free-market situation, you have to act quickly to take advantage of the opportunity so that someone else doesn't do it first.''

Although state lawmakers chipped in only $1 million, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Will Hoover, Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris wants the City Council to contribute $3 million, with almost $7 million coming from the federal government and the coalition calling on residents to push for the site's acquisition.

The sponsor of a bill to buy the land, Democratic state Representative Michael Magaoay believes the full amount can be raised before the next legislative session, stressing, ''the public was made aware of the pristine area we have up in the North Shore that can be preserved.'' -- Honolulu Advertiser   5/12/2004

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Developers Envision Pedestrian-Friendly Vacation Complex for Central Waikiki Hotel Strip

Planned for almost a decade, the redevelopment of a 7.7-acre ocean-side hotel strip in the congested central Waikiki neighborhood into an $800 million pedestrian-friendly complex of vacation residences, shops, restaurants and open space will be jointly launched this time next year by Outrigger Enterprises Inc. and longtime resident-developer Richard Gushman, with Outrigger president and CEO David Carey saying, ''We want this to be a fun, happening place with a family atmosphere that will appeal to both tourist and locals.''

His partner in charge of retail and entertainment facility construction, Gushman, adds, ''We want to make this an experience not common outside of Hawaii.''

The first phase of their Waikiki Beach Walk Project, reports Honolulu Star-Bulletin writer Allison Schaefers, will replace three 1950-era hotels with a 100,000 square-foot old-Waikiki-themed retail and entertainment space and a plaza, while another 480-room hotel will be renovated as 193 time-share ownership units. The second phase, tentatively set for 2007, will replace three more hotels with a 350-foot resort condominium tower. -- Honolulu Star-Bulletin   5/7/2004

Resource(s): www.starbulletin.com/

Aloha Tower Mixed-Use Plan Would Create Town-Like Neighborhood With Local Transit

Selected to redevelop the Honolulu waterfront because of his firm's successful mixed-use projects throughout Texas, UC Urban president Kenneth Hughes envisions a $350 million transformation of the Aloha Tower Marketplace area into a town-like neighborhood attracting younger urban residents with 550 largely affordable lofts over 50,000 square feet of shops and restaurants in three low-rise buildings, and with a picturesque view of the bustling harbor as a hub for cruise ships, water ferries and his proposed Honolulu Streetcar, its electric trolleys first running a 2.4-mile downtown-waterfront loop, later reaching 1.5 miles south to Kakaako, and eventually becoming part of the future light rail and bus rapid transit systems.

Called Pacific Quay, reports Honolulu Pacific Business News writer Nina Wu, the ambitious mixed-use project requires demolition of the Hawaiian Electric Co. Inc. (Heco) power plant, with the developer slating its 3.4-acre site for a park that would link to a planned waterfront hike-and-bike path extending some three miles down to Waikiki. The developer found Heco executives cooperative, although Heco spokesman Jose Dizon noted that the plant's production of 110 megawatts, crucial for the downtown area, would have to be immediately launched elsewhere, which would require talks with state and city officials, and sufficient public support.

Expected to decide on the Pacific Quay plan in March, the state Aloha Tower Development Corp. board liked the developer's latest presentation. Corporation acting executive director Daniel Orodenker said, ''The exciting thing about the project is you're not just talking about building a condo or office. You're talking about something that would transform downtown Honolulu -- and a huge park and transit system that would reshape Honolulu and bring more people to the waterfront.'' -- Pacific Business News   2/16/2004

Resource(s): http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/

Honolulu Mayor Cites a Decade of Urban Growth Successes, Outlines Plans for Final Year in Office

Since he took office in 1994, determined to ''ignite a renaissance in Honolulu,'' stimulate community involvement, rebuild historic neighborhoods and link communities ''with excellent public transportation,'' the city has revitalized the downtown area, Chinatown and Waikiki; spurred eco-tourism and a new sports tourism industry; upgraded and expanded bus transit and parklands; and achieved second-to-none quality of life, said Democratic Mayor Jeremy Harris in his State of the City address, stressing, ''We live in a place where open spaces and prime agricultural lands are now protected by urban growth boundaries, where our tree-lined boulevards and landscaped parks host almost a quarter million trees, and earn us the title, Tree City U.S.A.''

At the same time, the mayor pointed out, the city is ''recognized internationally as a leader in urban sustainability and environmental stewardship, and our mayors' environmental summit program has become a model for the world,'' adding, ''We developed the Asia-Pacific Urban Institute in Kapolei, and we've become the place that Asia is turning to for assistance in building their sustainable urban communities.''

For his final year in office, the mayor pledged to step up economic and eco-tourism diversification efforts; improve and beautify other streets and arteries to make them more pedestrian-friendly; plant more trees and substantially improve shoreline parks on both the Windward and leeward coasts; implement a curbside recycling program islandwide; and reduce the demand for fossil fuels by better energy conservation, and a further shift from ''an outdated reliance on large power plants'' to self-sufficient buildings and to renewable energy in transportation.

''Our goal is a state-of-the-art transit system that will one day run entirely on renewable energy,'' the mayor said. Calling transportation ''one of the keys to a sustainable city,'' the mayor promised to repair key roads, improve transit with new centers in Mililani and Waianae, and launch construction of the new Kapolei Parkway and the Bus Rapid Transit system from the downtown and Iwilei areas to Waikiki. ''Ultimately though, ladies and gentlemen, Honolulu must build fixed rail,'' the governor summed the transportation goals up, assuring the audience that despite the lack of state lawmakers' support for such a measure, he will ask Republican Governor Linda Lingle's task force to see ''that the state authorize the city to levy an excise tax to enable us to immediately build a high-capacity light rail or monorail system without time-consuming and costly federal involvement.''   1/29/2004

Resource(s): www.co.honolulu.hi.us/menu/

Gov. Lingle Focuses on Land Preservation, Low-Income Housing in State of the State Address

Resolved to protect Hawaii's unique environment, so vital to its tourist-based economy, Republican Governor Linda Lingle said in her State of the State address, ''Preserving the environment also means making wise land use decisions,'' urging proactive rather than ''reactive'' stewardship, broad cooperation for legislative enactment of the 1979 Hawaii constitutional amendment to conserve agricultural land, and a $100 million increase in the Housing and Community Development Corporation's borrowing authority to expand construction and rehabilitation of low-income rental housing.

The governor also pledged $20 million over five years, which should leverage the same amount in federal and private funds, for preventive action against invasive species; pushed for the administration's bill to make illegal dumping of solid waste a felony; encouraged private landowners to work with the State Department of Health to clean up contaminated sites; proposed a $14 million bond to improve facilities in the 69 state parks and recreational areas; requested $10 million to renovate small boat harbors; and asked for bills to generate 20 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and to exempt non-fossil fuels from the state fuel tax.

Looking forward to working with lawmakers and fulfilling the 25-year-old constitutional land-conservation mandate, the governor said, ''We are seeking legislation that would allow the counties to play a key role in identifying 'Important Agricultural Lands,' guided by criteria adopted by the legislature, with final approval by the Land Use Commission.'' And stressing that ''(o)ne negative effect of our expanding economy and prosperous real estate market is the serious lack of affordable rentals in low-income categories,'' the governor promised to call upon developers to help the state address a projected 30,000-unit affordable housing shortfall.   1/25/2004

Resource(s): www.hawaii.gov/

Transport Experts Point to Need for Coordinated Land-Use Planning to Ensure Success of Honolulu's Light Rail Project

As Hawaii lawmakers prepare to debate funding for the proposed $2.6 billion light-rail line between Honolulu's Iwilei neighborhood and Kapolei some 20 highway miles west, two visiting national transportation experts, Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer and author Jim Motavalli, told their city audience that light rail doesn't just relieve traffic congestion but also produces greater benefits by redefining the suburban lifestyle, all involving close coordination with land use to promote higher urban density and smart growth, reports Honolulu Advertiser writer Mike Leidemann.

''You can't just declare war on the auto and expect to offer a new transportation project in its place and be successful'' without coordinated land-use planning, cautioned Congressman Blumenauer, stressing the need for more housing choices, including four-story townhouses, in fast-developing areas near the proposed light-rail line. ''Light rail is just one part of the strategy for decreasing car dependence,'' said writer Motavalli, citing many examples of mainland cities where new transit systems and smart growth projects are mutually supportive.

Both speakers called a light-rail system vital for the island's future, but noted that making it a reality won't be easy. ''People will always tell you the faults of a rail system first, and then their resistance to raising local taxes to pay for it,'' said Congressman Blumenauer. ''But when one is finally put in place it has the potential to revolutionize the way people live and work and then they wonder how they ever lived without it.'' -- Honolulu Advertiser   1/20/2004

Resource(s): www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Maui's New Planning Director Outlines Sustainable Growth Plans

Sharing a growth-management vision with Maui County Mayor-elect Alan Arakawa, incoming county planning director Michael Foley hopes the island will get what it wants without losing what it has through its updated General Plan and nine community plans, all including smart-growth and sustainability ideas, along with long- term specifics to ensure rural land protection, affordable housing expansion and efficient mass transit. He also hopes the County Council will take another step toward these goals by changing the plans' legal status from voluntary to obligatory. A successful urban planner for 35 years in California, who spurred Davis' livability plan, oversaw Napa County's residential growth management and saved Susalito's waterfront, reports Maui News writer Mark Adams, he settled on Maui four years ago, getting involved in community planning efforts as a member of Maui Tomorrow, the Maui Coastal Land Trust, the Mayor's Advisory Committee for West Maui and the Sierra Club Maui. Stressing that ''growth is inevitable and good for the community in the right place at the right time,'' Foley say the community must come together to decide what kind of development is right for the island in the next 20-30 years to prevent it ''from becoming another Waikiki.'' His priorities are clear. The nine communities should avert sprawl and save agricultural land by drawing urban growth boundaries; large residential developers should have a choice between including affordable units in their projects, building such units elsewhere or contributing to the county's affordable housing fund; the county should begin buying land for transit corridors before prices escalate further, since ''there will come a time when we have to chose between more traffic gridlock or mass transit;'' and infrastructure, including roads, sewers and water lines, should precede development. He won't hesitate to recommend against a project denial, he says, wherever infrastructure will be insufficient. -- Maui News   12/10/2002

Resource(s): www.maui.net/~mauinews/newsnew.htm

Honolulu Approves Bus Rapid Transit Plan

In a victory for Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris, the City council voted 8-to-1 for a Development Plan amendment to start the $67 million first phase of a cross-town Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, with Councilman Jon Yoshimura saying many car users may dislike the endeavor, but it ''will change the habits of the next generation.'' Transportation Committee Chairman, Councilman Duke Bainum, called the BRT bill one of the most important during his two-term tenure, saying ''We can complain about traffic, or we can move ahead and take a chance.'' The cost of the BRT's first-phase 5.6-mile route, reports Honolulu Star-Bulletin writer Gordon Y.K. Pang, will be covered by $35 million in city bonds and $32 million in federal money. The route will run from Iwilei in the central city, along the shore, to the tourist-oriented Kapahulu. Having the exclusive use of lanes along 1.1 miles, BRT will allow right-turn vehicles along other 2.8 miles and all others along the remaining 1.7 miles. A one-way trip, with eight stops, should take about 22 minutes. -- Honolulu Star-Bulletin   6/27/2002

Resource(s): www.starbulletin.com/

Bill Would Protect Rural Land, Guide Rural Rezoning in Hawaii

Oahu Mayor Jeremy Harris is promoting a bill to establish ''protection zones'' for 87,000 acres of the island's most valuable rural land, to keep it from development ''in perpetuity'' or at least make subdivisions more difficult. Honolulu Star-Bulletin writer Gordon Y. K. Pang quotes Planning Director Randall Fujiki, who says, ''We're not discouraging development, but we want development in the right places for our long-range future,'' adding ''You don't want L. A. here.'' The bill would raise the upzoning approval threshold from a simple majority of five in the nine- member City Council to a ''super majority'' of six, require support of the state Department of Agriculture for any proposed upzoning and prohibit protected land subdivisions unless justified by agricultural, conveyance or rural loan goals. The director of the Hawaii chapter of the Sierra Club, Jeff Mikulina, considers the bill a good first step, though not sufficient to ensure that the land will always remain agricultural.   3/6/2002

Resource(s): www.starbulletin.com/

Open Space Acquisition Plan Proposed by Maui's Mayor

With property value assessments reaching $16.7 billion in the three-island Maui County last year, Mayor James ''Kimo'' Apana proposed a charter amendment in his State of the County speech, to set aside one percent of property taxes for open space acquisition, including parks and beach access. At Hawaii's lowest homeowner tax rate, $3.63 per $1,000 of assessed value, the amendment would let the county dedicate more than $600,000 a year to expand recreational land. Noting that the charter amendment would have to be approved by voters, possibly in November, Honolulu Star- Bulletin writer Gary T. Kubota reports that the mayor's 2002-03 budget will also promote energy efficiency through a new program that would help homeowners buy solar water-heating systems, by offering them $2,000 county loans, along with matching tax rebates and incentives from Maui Electric Co. Ltd.   2/12/2002

Resource(s): www.starbulletin.com/

Proposed Oahu Housing Development Criticized

A 7,500-home project for 1,250 acres in Central Oahu is drawing strong local opposition, with community planning expert Harrison Bright Rue telling the state Land Use Commission that increased vacancies in the area's three towns -- Mililani, Wahiawa and Waipahu -- have exceeded 1250 in 2000 and that rezoning the site from agricultural to urban use would deviate from Oahu's Sustainable Communities plans and the concept of ''smart growth.'' Honolulu Star-Bulletin writer Diana Leone quotes the expert as saying that the smart growth concept, increasingly popular nationwide, favors redevelopment of areas with existing infrastructure over development in open areas such as pineapple fields. Sierra Club representative Randy Ching adds that once fully completed, the project would exhaust area ground water and require desalinated water supplies at a seven times higher customer cost. With its next public hearing scheduled for February 1, the commission has until June to decide on the project, whose endorsement would next require a City Council approval.   1/18/2002

Resource(s): www.starbulletin.com/

Waikiki Growth Management Task Force Urged

At the inaugural session of the state's legislature, House Democratic Speaker Calvin Say urged lawmakers to create a public- private Waikiki growth management authority because ''This tourist Mecca has experienced haphazard growth, a deteriorating infrastructure and unforeseen commercialization to the point where it no longer represents a Hawaii sense of place.'' The proposed authority, backed by Senate Democratic President Robert Bunda, would ''set the course for the total redevelopment of Waikiki.'' Honolulu Star-Bulletin writer Richard Borreca reports that the Speaker also had two other growth and environment-related proposals. He would like the state to set up a hydrogen-alternative fuel research center at the University of Hawaii, which would make Hawaii a hub ''of hydrogen fuel development in the Pacific Rim, if not globally,'' and to take over the Paradise Park site in the back of Manoa Valley for a new ecosystem sciences center that would be ''a catalyst for the stewardship of Hawaii's natural resources'' and ''a source for expertise and scientific interchange throughout the Pacific Islands.''   1/16/2002

Resource(s): www.starbulletin.com/

Ridership Up on Honolulu Buses

Although set back by the immediate post-September 11th tourist industry slump, the number of local and guest passengers on Honolulu buses has risen again since early December, giving officials hope of reaching or even exceeding the last record of 70.6 million riders by the end of the fiscal year in June. Honolulu Star-Bulletin writer Gordon Y.K. Pang quotes Oahu Transit Services vice president Roger Morton as noting that despite a July increase in the standard fare from $1 to $1.50, bus ridership was up four percent by September 11th, as the agency sold 43,024 of the $27 monthly passes, compared with 38,381 of $25 passes sold the previous September. He points out that 60 percent of passengers along Waikiki main routes are local residents.   12/31/2001

Resource(s): www.starbulletin.com/2001/12/31/news/story3

Oahu Elementary School Group Awarded $25K for Water Quality Improvement Work

The Kailua Bay Advisory Council, created by Kailua officials six years ago in response to a Clean Water Act violation suit by the Sierra Club, Hawaii's Thousand Friends and other groups, awarded the first $25,000 from its $3.1 million for improving water quality along the southeastern Oahu shore to the Pope and Waimanalo elementary school children's group known as Hui Malama O Ke Kai -- "the group that takes care of the ocean." In the fourth year of its after-school activity program, the group, reports Honolulu Star-Bulletin writer Diana Leone, is implementing traditional Hawaiian practices of "caring for the ahupuaa," or the land between the mountains and ocean, while helping with beach and stream cleanups and with other environmental projects. Program director Stephanie Kim says the $25,000 award will enable the Hui Malama children to cultivate and harvest Hawaiian food plants on 1.5 acres provided by the University of Hawaii and to study ways of curbing agricultural runoff effects on the watershed. The writer adds that Council director Maile Bay hopes to award up to 12 similar contracts for Windward shore water quality improvements and that University of Hawaii professor Carl Evensen is encouraging farmers and others to visit the Hawaii Pollution Prevention Information Project (HAPPI) web site, which can help them reduce rural and residential runoff pollution. The site is www2.ctahr.hawaii.edu/wq/HAPPI   11/19/2001

Resource(s): www.starbulletin.com

In an 8-1 vote, the state ...

In an 8-1 vote, the state Land Use Commission rejected the Sierra Club Hawaii chapter's motion to stop processing Castle & Cooke Homes' permit application for a 1,250-acre, 7,500-home project on Central Oahu, until the company presents it with an environmental impact assessment report. Chapter director Jeff Mikulina, backed by the Mililani Neighborhood Board, told commissioners that the massive Koa Righe project poses a threat of increased traffic, water shortages, excessive urbanization and further farmland loss. Developer attorney Dickson Lee argued that an impact report is only necessary in a later phase of the permitting process, when the company asks the city council to rezone the tract from agricultural to residential use. Honolulu Star-Bulletin writer Gordon Y. K. Pang notes that the project consists of three segments, with the state Office of Planning recommending approval for two of them, totaling 752 acres.   9/17/2001

Resource(s): www.starbulletin.com

HAWAIIThirty-one years of Òexperience, expertise, and ...

HAWAIIThirty-one years of Òexperience, expertise, and innovationÓ since the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency Òhas earned the states full and equal status with Washington as protectors of America Ôs environment,Ó said EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman at the Annual Meeting of the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) in Honolulu, pledging to raise federal-state partnership to a new level -- with grants for states, tribes and other partners increased by $500 million to about half of the President's $3.3 billion environmental budget for 2001; with the focus shifted from administrative processes to practical results; and with an educational push to make the public realize that the environment is in much better shape than generally thought. The Administrator pointed out that the new partnership pledge reflects the President's and her experience as governors. ÒWe both know,Ó she said, Òthat Washington doesn't have a monopoly on all the answers, and that the states -- because they are closer to the problems -- are also often closer to the solutions.Ó With the states performing about 95 percent of the nation's environmental compliance inspections and taking about 90 percent of the enforcement actions, she continued, the projected grant increase is not Òa retreat from EPA's commitment to enforcing America's environmental laws,Ó as some Administration opponents claim, but a Òprofound changeÓ in the EPA's approach to its mission. Instead of Òquantifying how much process we've been able to devise,Ó she stressed, we are going to measure Òthe state of the environmentÓ and the effectiveness of Òindividual programs and regulations,Ó presenting Americans an Òenvironmental report cardÓ each year, to keep them fully informed about Òthe success -- or failure -- of our efforts.Ó Citing the National Governors' Association call to Congress for a Òflexible, market-based program to significantly reduce and capÓ toxic emissions, she announced that the Administration will soon propose Òmandatory reductions by power plants of Nox, SO2, and mercury,Ó with sufficient regulatory flexibility to Òmake both environmental and economic sense.Ó The proposal Òis modeled on the very successful Acid Rain Program which has, over the past decade, achieved more air pollution reductions, more cost-effectively, than all other air programs combined,Ó gaining 100-percent industry compliance, while run by fewer than 20 EPA employees. Also, calling the National Environmental Performance Partnership System, developed jointly by EPA and ECOS, an excellent model for moving Òfrom command and control to cooperation and accomplishment,Ó the Administrator expressed her support for the brownfield reuse legislation passed by the Senate earlier this year, and emphasized the need for Òa watershed-based approachÓ to water pollution, which she singled out as Òthe major environmental issue of the 21st century.Ó 08.06.2001   9/10/2001

Resource(s): www.insideepa.com

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