Farms were replaced by strip malls; plantation homes with townhouses.

The once-sleepy town built around the 'Aiea Sugar Mill has become a pass-through, with commuters zipping by along H-1, Moanalua Road or Kamehameha Highway en route to the burgeoning suburbs of Kapolei and Mililani.

No longer is 'Aiea a destination — and residents want to see that perception changed.

"We've lost our sense of place, our sense of community," said longtime resident Kimberly Mills, who researched 'Aiea for her University of Hawai'i master's thesis in urban and regional planning. "Basically, 'Aiea is just a ZIP code now."

Kamehameha Highway and the shoreline have become key battlegrounds in the effort to redefine the community. Shoreline plans are well under way, led by the Pearl Harbor Historic Trail. But what began as a quiet movement to restrict the kinds of businesses that open up along Kamehameha Highway has taken on new prominence with the announcement in January that electronics mega-retailer Best Buy plans to move into the old Tony Honda dealership at the corner of Kamehameha Highway and Kanuku Street.

The Best Buy proposal puts the effort to reclaim 'Aiea's identity at a crossroads.

The big-box retailer would bring much-needed economic benefits — from jobs to sales taxes.

But the mega-store is expected to lure thousands every week to what would be its first store in Hawai'i, worsening traffic along already congested roadways.

And with residents and officials favoring pedestrian-friendly businesses that complement the shoreline, such as waterfront cafes and retail shops, they say that Best Buy's planned 60-foot building goes against plans to beautify the area.#034;We're trying to preserve the integrity of the shoreline," said Rep. K. Mark Takai, D-34th (Pearl City, Newtown, Royal Summit). "Putting in a 60-foot wall in front of the highway is going in the wrong direction."

"The Best Buy project will negatively impact the Waimalu community," Takai said. "Already Hekaha Street and Kanuku Street cannot adequately handle the current traffic load. This project will create a traffic gridlock in the middle of our community. ... Our community has been working hard on plans for Kamehameha Highway and the Pearl Harbor shoreline. The Best Buy project will undermine both efforts. ... This is very frustrating."

A plantation town, 'Aiea never had a master plan for its urban growth, and nowhere is that more evident than along Kamehameha Highway. The road is a hodgepodge of strip malls and auto dealerships.

The area is home to more than 40,000 people, with nearly half of its population older than 50. Since Japanese immigrants were the first to settle in 'Aiea in 1900 to work at the sugar mill, it's no surprise that the ethnic group still makes up the majority of the population.

'Aiea has all the makings of a balanced community. It boasts a major shopping center, stadium, swap meet, golf course and hospital. It has schools, parks, recreation centers and hiking trails. There are fishponds and wetlands along the shoreline.

Though it doesn't have macadamia nut, avocado and taro farms anymore, Sumida Farms still operates its 10-acre watercress farm along Kamehameha Highway next to Pearlridge Center.

What 'Aiea has lost over time, however, is the view of the shoreline.

"When the big highway cut off the water from 'Aiea, it lost its soul," said Halawa Heights resident Robyn Blanpied, a member of the 'Aiea/Pearl City Vision Group and executive director of the Friends of Pearl Harbor Historic Trail. "We're now discovering what makes (the community) special. It has something to offer."

The effort to reclaim the community is building on some early successes.

• The city bought the 6.8 acres of land under the former sugar mill for $8.9 million last November to build a long-awaited town center that is expected to become a defining focal point for the community.

• The 'Aiea-Pearl City Livable Communities Plan, in its final draft, outlines various ways the community can be improved, from supporting landscape projects along major roadways to creating a shoreline access to Pearl Harbor.

• A community group is putting together plans for the Pearl Harbor Historic Trail, an 18.6-mile multiuse path from the Arizona Memorial to Nanakuli that runs along the shoreline through 'Aiea. The goal is to provide economic opportunities to attract businesses to the area and offer low-impact recreational options for residents and tourists.

The trail has been considered one of the keys to revitalizing 'Aiea.

The city already operates the bike path that runs almost continuously from Pearl Harbor to 'Ewa Beach. Hundreds of people use the path every week, especially along the backside of Blaisdell Park.

The bike path behind Blaisdell Park attracts joggers daily. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

The short-term plan is to connect and widen the path, beautify the areas it cuts through and give users something to do, see or buy along the way. The long-term goal is to run a train from Pearl Harbor to Nanakuli, to move people through the part of O'ahu typically left out of travel books. Trail supporters hope the influx of visitors to these outlying communities will improve economic opportunities.

"It creates a world-class project that is a great amenity for the local community as well as everyone in Hawai'i," said City Councilman Gary Okino, a longtime 'Aiea resident and a driving force behind the Pearl Harbor Historical Trail.

"It will be a great attraction to bring tourists here and eventually into our leeward communities, so that's why it's a major economic development project. It is also cultural, historical, educational and environmental. It protects and restores the natural environment of the shoreline."

The path would run through several neighborhoods, from 'Aiea through Waipahu to Nanakuli, with each community responsible for the upkeep of its particular stretch. That, in turn, would provide a diversity along the trail, from urban to industrial, from retail stores to farmlands.

"We want each community to retail its identity along the trail," Blanpied said. "The community

is critical in the success of the

project."

Limiting the kinds of businesses that crop up along Kamehameha Highway becomes an important part of planning for the trail, she added.

"You don't want the overgrowth," Blanpied said. "The green space will be swallowed by concrete. It's so auto-dependent that the people get left out."

Getting people out of cars is the most important thing, said Sierra Club-Hawai'i director Jeff Miku-

lina. "It not only helps businesses, but it helps build community," he said. "It builds social capital, something we've lost with strip malls and big-box retailers."

And something residents want to get back, that sense of identity, being something more than a pass-through.

"'Aiea is the epitome of urban sprawl," Mills said. "It's a small town that grew up around the sugar mill, and now it's lost. We're trying really hard to bring back a sense of community. Because all roads lead to 'Aiea."

Reach Catherine E. Toth at 535-8103 or ctoth@honoluluadvertis