UH Kapolei site stirs debate

By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

'EWA — Campbell Estate officials are strongly pushing for the planned University of Hawai'i-West O'ahu campus to be built in the heart of downtown Kapolei, one of three sites being considered for the new campus.

But residents attending the board meeting had the same concerns as earlier voiced by some Kapolei residents — traffic congestion and lack of parking — if the campus is placed in the designated civic center section of Kapolei, next to the Kapolei state office tower off Kamokila Boulevard.

UH officials are also considering two other sites for the four-year undergraduate school to ultimately accommodate 6,500 to 7,500 students. They are a 59-acre site next to Kapolei Middle School in the Villages of Kapolei residential subdivision, and a 320-acre site east of Kapolei Golf Course, along Farrington Highway and referred to as Kapolei Makai.

A recommended site will be made to the university board of regents in September. The plan is to partially open a new campus by 2005 to initially handle about 2,750 students.

Because of its limited size, the "urban" campus would consist of five- to 10-story buildings with a four- to five-story parking structure.

But Rae said a downtown site would mean the campus buildings could be constructed more quickly since infrastructure is already available. The university would also complement restaurants and shops in Campbell Estate's "second city" of Kapolei, and provide jobs and internships for students.

"It would be like the (Hawai'i Pacific University) downtown campus," Rae said. "Students are going to hang out after class, and that is what you want."

Rae said it is possible that a deal could be negotiated between Campbell Estate and UH to expand the size of the proposed downtown Kapolei campus. He said the larger Kapolei Makai site would take longer to build since infrastructure needs to be installed.

But board members and residents said traffic and parking were already a problem in downtown Kapolei, and that many UH-West O'ahu students would commute by car, not by bus.

"They build all these houses out here and not build the roads to deal with the traffic," 'Ewa Beach resident Kanani Langley said. "Don't do the same thing with this university."

UH officials attending the meeting Thursday wanted the 'Ewa Neighborhood Board to support a campus location, but the board said it would not decide on the matter until the Makakilo-Kapolei-Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board discusses the issue at its July 31 meeting.

"We have no right to make a decision for the Kapolei community, since they will have to deal with all the problems that come along with the new campus," board member Mary Ann Miyashiro said.

The 'Ewa board said it will ask the Kapolei board members to attend its planning and zoning committee hearing July 23 to get their feedback. The 'Ewa board would then take a final position in August.

Kapolei residents at a community meeting last month didn't want the "suburban" campus in the back of their Villages of Kapolei community along Kapolei Parkway. The 59-acre site off Kapolei Parkway between the Kapolei Middle School and 'Ewa Villages would probably consist of four- and five-story buildings with parking structures.

Kapolei Makai would be 320 acres, but could be expanded to 500, UH officials said. It would consist of two- to three-story buildings, with ground-level parking.