Ala Wai Harbor feedback offered
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
A group of Ala Wai Boat Harbor users and area residents has presented its preliminary report to the state Land Board on what they would like to see done at the harbor when it is turned over to a private developer.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Their ideas include pedestrian promenades, additional shops and restaurants, and storage for surfboards, kayaks and canoes.
A committee comprising users and neighbors of Ala Wai Boat Harbor presented an 11-page document to the state Land Board that outlined the group's vision for the harbor, wish list for improvements and concerns about the future.
After hearing the sometimes angry testimony of harbor users in December, the state Land Board decided to delay the privatization implementation to make sure that users and neighbors of the boat harbor are given a voice in the preliminary decision-making process. The board formed the ad hoc committee to develop guidelines for privatization of the harbor.
The 11-page document, presented Thursday, details the committee's vision for the harbor, their wish list for improvements and their concerns about the future. The 12-member committee has been working with the state Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation to develop the document.
The Land Board had hoped for a final report from the committee last week, but John Foley, representing the Hawai'i Prince Hotel, and Bruce Middleton, representing the Ala Wai Marina Board, asked for more time to complete their work.
Middleton said unresolved issues include "restrictions to privatization, what they cannot do as well as what areas are suitable for which activities."
The board agreed to the extension and set June 28 as the new deadline for the final report to be turned in.
The committee's report will be used when the state publishes its request for proposals seeking applicants for a long-term lease for the harbor.
Gil Coloma-Agaran, chairman of the Land Board, said the request for proposals will be finalized, advertised and responses evaluated no sooner than late fall or more likely by the end of the year.
So far, the committee's recommendations include:
- Place all environmentally regulated activities in the boat yard, including repair and maintenance services.
- Develop a pedestrian promenade from Hilton Hawaiian Village along the first row of marina slips past the boat yard to Ala Moana Beach Park.
- Maintain a "no build area" at the old heliport site to create a public park.
- Create a covered, landscaped pedestrian walkway along a section of boat slips to improve aesthetics, access and safety for users.
- Keep the fuel dock where it is, but add a restaurant, snack bar or coffee kiosk and tables and possibly move the harbormaster to a second-floor office.
- Keep the nonprofit Hawai'i Yacht Club where it is.
- Develop the harbor-master building into a retail area including shops and restaurants, storage, surfboard racks and kayak and canoe storage.
Other issues the committee will continue to discuss include creating a Hawaiian sense of place; maintaining opportunities for regattas such as the Kenwood Cup and Transpacific Yacht Race; and upgrading facilities and infrastructure, parking, safety and water quality in the harbor.
"No one objects to some privatization — restaurants, shops — as revenue generators," Middleton said. "Not just leasing out the entire Ala Wai harbor."
Middleton would like the Land Board to separate what should be privatized from what should remain under public control. He said keeping parts of the harbor in public hands will ensure public access and if the entire harbor is privatized slip prices could increase and force out many tenants.
Efforts to turn the harbor over to private operators have long been a point of contention among various state officials and the people who use the Ala Wai or live nearby.
The state said that plans to lease the land to private developers would allow better upkeep of the boat harbor, which is falling into disrepair, and would maximize revenue for the state.
Those opposing the move said that without proper safeguards, it could also allow for a continuation of the type of overdevelopment plaguing other parts of Waikiki, make slip fees for boaters prohibitive and remove longtime parking considerations for surfers and paddlers.
Middleton suggested that an environmental impact statement be completed before the harbor is leased to a private entity.
Reach James Gonser at 535-2431 or jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com.
