Posted on: Wednesday, June 26, 2002
Kahala battle may be brewing
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
KAHALA — Patrick Bowlen, owner and chief executive of the Denver Broncos professional football team, is asking the city for permission to build a third home at his waterfront Kahala Beach property.
Bowlen purchased the property in 1999 for $4.9 million, according to public records. The property, which is just under an acre, had five homes on it until recently. Some of the homes were built in the 1920s and one had been used as a bed and breakfast, according to city records. Bowlen began the process of acquiring a nonconforming use permit that would enable him to rebuild any one of the five homes, but weeks before that permit was issued, three of the homes were torn down due to a miscommunication between the architect and the builder, city records show.
The homes on the property are cottage style, said Charles Masseth, of Kahala Architectural Group. Bowlen must get a variance, an exception to the land use ordinance, to allow him to have three detached homes on his 39,000-square-foot property on Kahala Avenue. The third home he wants to build will be two stories and 1,212 square feet with a three-car garage underneath and a pool. The house would be a caretaker's home, Masseth said. Bowlen travels between Denver and Honolulu frequently with his family, Masseth said.
"Mr. Bowlen has no desire to build an opulent residence. He is replacing the three residences with a smaller one that would decrease the density by 20 percent," Masseth said. "Mr. Bowlen is a longtime resident here. He has a strong connection with the values of Hawai'i, particularly with the character of the neighbor-hood."
Kahala — where expensive homes sit back far from the street, hidden by tall trees and shrubs — is a community that is concerned about its image and about any changes that occur. Oceanfront homes sell for millions of dollars, and in some cases, such as Bow-len's, the houses are worth hardly anything compared to the land.
In recent years, the community has worked with the city to oust a wedding chapel, a bed and breakfast and a Japanese corporate retreat. Six years ago it battled with an owner down the street from Bowlen's home that was running a boarding house that had as many as 22 people living in 10 units. The community won the fight and the owner sold the property.
While the city follows the letter of the law, the Kahala Community Association, made up of 1,400 residents from Black Point to Wai'alae Avenue, is concerned about the underlying deed restrictions for the community. The association has yet to take up Bowlen's variance request, said Merrill Crowe, Kahala Community Association treasurer.
The association has assisted several property owners with legal action to enforce deed restrictions that have never come before the courts, said Mark Storfer, association president.
"The community has a long-standing aversion to high density projects," said Storfer, who also is a member of the Wai'alae-Kahala Neighborhood Board. "The deeds are more restrictive than the city land use ordinance and the restrictions vary from track to track."
A public hearing on the application will be at 1:30 p.m. July 11 at the Human Resources Conference Room at City Hall, said Geri Ung, a city Department of Planning and Permitting staff planner. The director of the department has 60 days to decide on the permit, Ung said.
The city's law allows for two unattached homes to be built on a lot with only a building permit, Ung said.
"The area should be pleased with this," Ung said. "The owner has reduced the density and asked that the permit allowing for the bed and breakfast be rescinded."
Neither Bowlen nor his architect could be reached for comment.
Last week the Wai'alae-Kahala Neighborhood Board voted against Bowlen's request until it received more information, said Richard Turbin, the board's chairman.
"Hopefully, they'll send a representative to the meeting in July and we can get an explanation," Turbin said.
