Castle & Cooke seeks OK for large Central O'ahu project
By James Gonser
Advertiser Central Bureau
The state Land Use Commission yesterday denied the Sierra Club of Hawai'i's request to force developer Castle & Cooke Homes Hawai'i Inc. to complete an environmental assessment for its Koa Ridge project and began hearings on the company's petition to reclassify 1,250 acres of agricultural land in Central O'ahu for the 6,200-unit development.
Sierra Club director Jeff Mikulina said the environmental assessment is needed as early as possible in planning for a project of this size so the land and communities can be protected.
"The environmental impacts of a project of this magnitude deserve the utmost consideration," Mikulina said. "The Land Use Commission should know exactly what they are approving before they act."
Castle & Cooke attorney Dickson Lee said an environmental assessment will be completed when the developer is applying for zoning changes with the city, but they currently are seeking only a change in land-use designation from agricultural to urban. Lee said the commission could limit the scope of the project, making an environmental assessment obsolete.
"The city has checks and balances, and the plans will have crystallized by the time rezoning is sought," Lee said, and the environmental assessment "will be useful at that juncture."
The commission agreed and voted 6-1 to deny the Sierra Club's request.
Koa Ridge — between Waiawa and Mililani — would consist of a variety of homes, including senior facilities, neighborhood shopping, jogging trails and a medical-care complex operated by Wahiawa General Hospital.
The project would be built on former pineapple land in three segments — Koa Ridge Makai, Koa Ridge Mauka and Waiawa. The makai portion would be the first to be developed and would include a medical park, with the first medical facilities ready by 2003.
The commission granted intervener status in July to the Sierra Club and the Mililani Neighborhood Board, which are raising issues about traffic, water availability and overdevelopment of agricultural lands.
A standing-room-only crowd filled the commission meeting room yesterday because of the potential impact the project has on future O'ahu development.
"This is a good test case to see how the Land Use Commission will decide development issues for the next 15 or 20 years," said the Sierra Club's Randy Ching. "If this goes through, other developers in the area will have clear sailing."
The commission meets for a day or two every other week, and with dozens of witnesses and exhibits to review, the hearings are expected to last several sessions.
Mililani resident Doug Frederick began testimony on the land-use designation request by saying Castle & Cooke could not be trusted to follow through with its plans. He said a section of Mililani Mauka designated for a University of Hawai'i campus is now planned for homes.
"I'm afraid the medical center plans will later change to housing, too," Frederick said.
Drs. Edmund Wong and Randall Suzuka, both board members of the Wahiawa Hospital Association, said an acquisition agreement has been reached to purchase 80 acres of the Koa Ridge site from Castle & Cooke and the developer could not revert to housing in the area.
The Land Use Commission is not expected to make a decision and order on Castle & Cooke's request until early next year. The hearings continue at 8:30 a.m. today.
