North Shore housing proposal sparks debate
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser City Hall Writer
A proposal to build a gated residential community on the North Shore near the world-famous Velzyland surf spot is drawing opposition from people who say the city should buy the waterfront property and turn it into a park.
Council Zoning Chairman John DeSoto said there is support in the community for the development at a run-down area that he said is now known as a hangout for drug users. "It's really an eyesore."
The developer is D.G. "Andy" Anderson, a longtime Hawai'i political figure who has been mentioned as a possible candidate for governor next year. The proposed project is Kaunala Beach Estate subdivision, about a half-mile northeast of Sunset Beach Park.
The site contains two two-story apartment buildings, two three-story apartment buildings, 21 single-family houses and a paved parking area.
'Not the aloha spirit'
Project manager Earl Matsukawa, who works for consultant Wilson Okamoto & Associates, described the project as building 29 single-family homes, a private road, a parcel to be dedicated to the city for park use and a separate public pedestrian shoreline access easement.
Matsukawa recommended that the city drop a requirement for a 12-space parking lot to help provide access, but city planners rejected that idea at yesterday's Zoning Committee meeting.
Professional bodyboarder Carol Anne Philips spoke against the development, a view shared by some 70 area residents who opposed the project at a public hearing June 21.
Philips said the area is heavily used by residents even though there are "no trespassing" signs.
She said she used to live there and never minded when people would walk through the property or even use her water to hose off their boogie boards. "I would never stop them because that's not the aloha spirit, that's not the Hawaiian way."
Anderson said the development would not affect the famous surf spot. "We didn't approach this insensitive to the problems out there," he said. "I mean, I have enough political background and enough smarts to know that when you go out to an area like this and a project like this, you've got to find common ground that satisfies the majority of the people."
He said area people routinely trespass over the yards to get to the surfing area. But he said the same residents who allow people they know to cross their property would call the police if tourists they didn't know tried the same thing.
Anderson said the compromise reached will allow "opening up this beach and keeping it open for the public legally for the first time ever."
Council members want park
Councilwoman Rene Mansho, who represents the area, said she would prefer to have a park at the site. She said the city had placed a park symbol on a planning map when the 17-acre parcel was for sale for $4 million two years ago.
"If we had the money, I'd say go for it," Mansho said.
The city has continued to target Waimea Valley for purchase as a North Shore park, and that site appears to be the higher priority.
Mansho agreed with Councilman Duke Bainum, who said the city can't afford to continue buying land in every community but should buy where practical.
"We do not have unlimited money," Bainum said. "We can't buy up the entire island, nor should we."
Bainum said the area has been designated for residential development for years.
Sierra Club Hawai'i chapter director Jeff Mikulina also opposed the project. "We feel that there are better uses for the shoreline."
He said the organization would support a beach park and worries about the environmental effects.
Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
