Building of church concerns residents

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

The Rev. Albert P.A. Kamau flies to O'ahu from Maui to oversee the construction of the King's Cathedral in Niu Valley Shopping Center at the former site of a supermarket. The open area will be the sanctuary. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

The fast-growing, Maui-based Christian church signed a deal two years ago to rent the former grocery store with an option to buy the entire

5-acre Niu Valley Shopping Center. The sale of the center is expected to wrap up this month for an estimated $5 million, according to real estate experts.

While the construction crews are months from finishing, their work is causing a stir. Residents fear that Niu Valley is being overrun with churches and schools and losing the things that make the community special. Already the quiet, almost sleepy community of retirees and young couples with children has lost its only neighborhood grocery store and gas station, and they fear that the church will crowd out the other restaurants and shops.

"The community is well-served by churches already," said Ed Michelman, a long-time resident of Niu Valley. "With all the congestion on Kalaniana'ole Highway already building up, we don't need additional cars and traffic in the area.

"This is a very vocal church and a noisy group when they get together, and it will be quite disruptive to our community," Michelman said.

King's Cathedral officials say Niu is a perfect location for a church, as it has many community residents as members. Even before the church's Niu location is completed, it has been holding services in a Waikiki hotel on Sundays and at Niu Valley Middle School on Tuesday evenings. About 250 people attend each service, said the Rev. James Marocco, who founded the church in 1980.

"We want to be a blessing to the community," Marocco said. "I think sometimes people question anything that is new. There won't be any difference in terms of the space. Our plans are to keep the center the way it is."

"This Niu church will be our largest church outside of Maui," and similar to its Kahului location, though on a smaller scale, Marocco said.

The Kahului King's Cathedral is on 14 acres of former cane fields on one of the busiest streets in town — Mokulele Highway and Dairy Road/Huihelani Highway — next to a Costco, Home Depot, Borders and Lowe's. There's a school on the grounds called Kaahumanu Hou, which has 60 preschoolers and 120 children in kindergarten to Grade 12. Each Sunday about 2,500 people attend services. At least one each Sunday is broadcast live from Maui to Moloka'i. Starting next week the church will expand those live broadcasts to its two churches on Kaua'i.

With five locations on Maui, King's Cathedral is well-known, said Maui Councilwoman Jo Anne Johnson. She could not recall any constituent complaints about the church, which has a reputation for trying to work with the community.

The church's Lahaina location is also on a heavily traveled road, Johnson said. "It's in a semi-residential area, but I've never gotten a complaint about them," she said. "It's a music-themed ministry that does a lot of outreach in the community. From what I've been able to gather, they've done well with fitting into the community."

The Niu Valley location is being built in three phases. A concrete strike and a lag in the city building department have put the church behind schedule, but the hope is to hold services inside the Niu Valley building by the end of October, Marocco said.

The Niu church will have preschool classrooms, a kitchen and an infant nursery, a bookstore and two youth classrooms. The 38,000-square-foot site will also hold a sanctuary that will seat 900 people, with a stage and space for a youth ministry, according to building plans.

Niu Valley is within the 3-mile stretch between Hawai'i Kai and 'Aina Haina. That area has at least seven churches either using school facilities or with their own building. Marocco said that's not too many churches for the number of residents, as he intends to draw people from as far away as the university area when the Niu Valley church is completed.

The church has been on residents' minds ever since one of the pastors came before the community to outline plans for Niu Valley Center. Members of the community have talked about the church's plans at every Kuli'ou'ou/Kalani Iki Neighborhood Board meeting since, expressing concern and opposition. The neighborhood board voted unanimously in March to oppose the church's plan.

Twice church representatives have come before angry residents filled with concerns that once the church owns the center it will push out the remaining businesses and take over the entire site and dedicate it to its church activities, including a school.

The community has asked the church to sign a memorandum of understanding agreeing not to add a school on the site. The church has declined.

"I have heard the Niu Valley residents," said Bob Chuck, neighborhood board chairman. "I agree with their concerns that a church will cause a lot of disruption to the valley."

But there is little the community can do, as a church is a legal use of a business-zoned property, according to the city's land use ordinance. The church could even build a school, similar to its Maui operations, on the shopping center land without any community review, according to the city.

Steve Sofos, whose company will take over management of the center after the sale, said that in August the church will announce a new tenant for the gas-station site that should satisfy the community's need for a convenience store.

Marocco said twice-weekly services Tuesdays and Sundays shouldn't conflict with the businesses' need for parking. If the 200 parking stalls prove insufficient, he plans to dedicate parking for the businesses and pave additional parking in the rear of the building.

"We'll work it out. Our church will benefit the stores here," Marocco said. "The center didn't have much life."

Even though many residents in her neighborhood oppose the church, Alita Arkin, a 40-year resident of Niu Valley, is a devout follower.

About a year ago she heard of the church's plans and planned to attend services once the church opened. Then she heard of the church's Tuesday night services at Niu Valley Middle School.

"I don't have to drive all over town now to find a church that meets my needs," Arkin said.

But many residents in East Honolulu are unconvinced that King's Cathedral can fit in with the community.

Said Michelman: "They're not being open as to their intentions. They're not telling anyone what their intentions really are. They say they have no plans, but they never say they're not going to build a school and take over the entire shopping center. They've not demonstrated the type of rapport with the community where it feels they are being honest."

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.