Mayor vetoes zoning change for Best Buy
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
In his first veto this year, Mayor Jeremy Harris has rejected a plan to build a Best Buy consumer electronics store in Waimalu. But City Council members say they'll push to overturn Harris' veto of a zoning change that the project requires.
The site is along Kamehameha Highway, adjacent to the Pearl Harbor shoreline and across from Waimalu Shopping Center. Harris said the property is better suited for public use or open space.
"In many other parts of the island we are providing reconnections to the shoreline through improved beach parks and enhanced pedestrian accessways," the mayor said in his veto message. "This can happen in Waimalu, which has a rich heritage of fishponds, taro fields and other community amenities that have disappeared under more recent industrial development."
Councilmen Gary Okino and Charles Djou blasted the mayor's action and said it would likely be reversed.
"Best Buy listened to and worked closely with the community to come up with a store plan that makes sense and actually improves the aesthetics of the area," said Okino, who represents the area.
The company planned to build a 50,000-square-foot store with 260 parking stalls on the site, where the Tony Honda and Nissan dealership used to be.
Okino said it would be too expensive for the city to acquire the property. He also said the store would not have clashed with plans for the Pearl Harbor Historic Trail.
Djou, chairman of the City Council's Zoning Committee, said Harris' veto would reinforce an image that the state doesn't support business. "Hawai'i has long had a reputation of being hostile to investors and not welcoming job-creators," Djou said.
If Harris wanted the property to be a park, he should have earmarked money for it and started condemnation proceedings, Djou said.
City Managing Director Ben Lee said the administration has no specific alternative plans for the property. But the administration wants to discourage large-scale development and additional strip malls along the shoreline, he said.
"It's time to take a stand and reverse some of the mistakes that were made in the past," Lee said. "Once that building is built, another potential piece of shoreline is lost. If we give in, that means that we'll never be able to change."
Best Buy officials could not immediately be reached for comment. The vetoed bill had changed the property's zoning classification from intensive industrial to industrial-commercial mixed use.
To override the veto, at least six of the council's nine members would have to oppose the mayor. The panel is expected to vote on March 24.
In October, the council overturned Harris' veto of a requirement that members of city boards and commissions be instructed about the state's "sunshine law," which calls for open meetings and public access to information.
In December, Harris vetoed two bills that set limits on city spending and debt, finding the measures unnecessary and unworkable.
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
