Posted on: Tuesday, March 2, 2004

EDITORIAL
Chinatown lofts can stand on own merit

If the city has a grand vision for Chinatown, as we believe it does, it should have no problem drawing widespread support.

But if it employs unorthodox maneuvers to achieve its vision, the city is more likely to meet resistance, and that can kill a good idea.

One such maneuver — and we've discussed it before — is a bill that combines a popular plan to make it easier to develop lofts in the historic core of Chinatown with a controversial plan to limit the height on two nearby high-rises to protect the view plane from Chinatown.

While the two might seem related, we join the chorus of voices, including the Mayor's Downtown/Chinatown Task Force, that want them separated so each matter can stand on its own merits.

Simply put, we don't want to see a good idea held hostage to the approval of a more controversial idea.

The less popular proposal would expand the Chinatown Special District 20 acres into Iwilei. If approved, two planned high-rise developments that have been in the works for years would have to lower their heights to comply with the special district height rules.

While we can see how the two development projects — a 21-story complex for the elderly and a 23-story affordable residential condominium — might mar the view plane and obstruct part of the waterfront, we're not sure that it's right for the city to use a special district expansion to change the rules mid-game.

As for the lofts, it's an idea long overdue in historic Chinatown, which has the makings of a Greenwich Village-type arts-and-culture district, with restaurants, cafes, galleries, retail and offices.

A good example of a district that has been revitalized by an infusion of live/work lofts is downtown Oakland, Calif., and its waterfront Jack London Square.

If the Chinatown loft proposal brings such a vision closer, we see no reason why it shouldn't pass with flying colors. But please don't tie it to approval of a special district expansion that requires infinitely more consideration and scrutiny.