St. Louis Heights may seek separate neighborhood board

By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

The first two items on tonight's Diamond Head/Kapahulu/St. Louis Heights Neighborhood Board agenda reflect the internal problems the group is experiencing. The first item is a proposal to split the board in two, and the second is to deal with four separate complaints filed against the board or its members.

The three areas that make up the board range from a residential area high on the slopes of the Ko'olau mountains, along a busy commercial corridor and down to the homes around the extinct crater and the beach at Kapi'olani Park. The issues important to residents in each area can also be very different, leading to the plan to split the board, Ross said.

Some St. Louis Heights residents have complained that their issues are frequently overlooked in favor of items concerning Waikiki and Diamond Head, but Ross denies the allegation, saying that a recent count shows that the issues are discussed evenly.

Ken Swearingen, president of the St. Louis Community Association, said of the board meetings he attended, 85 percent to 90 percent of the issues discussed concerned Waikiki and Diamond Head.

"All we want is if there are three segments and one board, they should have equitable time," Swearingen said. "It's pretty simple."

Ben Kama, executive secretary of the Neighborhood Commission, will attend tonight's meeting to answer any procedural questions about forming a new board.

Kama said if residents want to split a board they first have to write a petition and collect signatures from 10 percent of the people who voted in the last board election. In the 2003 board election, 5,720 people voted, so 572 signatures would be needed to file a petition. The signatures must be verified by the city clerk's office.

Neighborhood boards are regulated under rules in the city's Neighborhood Plan, which designates boundaries and provides for neighborhood formation. The plan leaves most decisions about forming a board up to each neighborhood.

The St. Louis group, headed by board member Wayne Gau, would need to submit a petition to the commission for review and public hearings would be held. The commission will then decide if the petition has merit, Kama said.

"If that is how some of the people in St. Louis Heights feel, that is their prerogative," Kama said.

Kama said the Kapolei/Makakilo/Honokai Hale board used to be part of the 'Ewa board and the Mililani Mauka board used to be part of Wahiawa, and both were successful in petitioning to form new boards years ago.

The complaints to be discussed tonight are related to alleged violations of board rules and sunshine laws and speak of a larger problem on the board of personality disputes and power struggles, Ross said.

Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.