Hawai'i Kai group draws line in asphalt

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

Just when it seems there couldn't be room for another residential development in Hawai'i Kai, another one pops up.

A sign at Mariner’s Cove encourages Hawai‘i Kai residents to get involved in issues of growth and development. About 125 residents have organized a hui to protest an ongoing building boom. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Some of the proposals are new, while others were approved a decade ago and just awaited better economic times. All come as residents are beginning to feel the impact of the biggest building boom in nearly 30 years, and complaining about the additional traffic, buildings too big or too close to the street — and rapidly disappearing open space.

As a result, the stirrings of a backlash are spreading across the community, with residents' frustration manifesting in standing-room-only crowds at recent meetings concerning congestion on Kalaniana'ole Highway and the newest development proposal, and in white banners proclaiming "Liveable Hawaii Kai Hui" popping up around the neighborhood.

The signs are the work of a newly formed group of citizens who want to block further development. With roughly 125 members, the hui is passing out petitions to stop development in Kamilonui Valley.

"The message is, stop the hasty development," said Elizabeth Reilly, founder of the grassroots group. "Stop long enough to get to know the 1,000-plus residents, and then take a moment to see what effect they're having on the traffic, the sewers, the water and the schools."

A resident attending last week's Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood board meeting was more blunt.

"We are all stewards of the land," said Yvonne Hepton, a real-estate agent. "I am disgusted and appalled at what we are allowing to happen in Hawai'i Kai. I'm standing up here to say enough is enough. Please, no more building."

What's happening in Hawai'i Kai is playing out in other areas of the state, such as in Central O'ahu, Kona on the Big Island and in West Maui.

A changing economy and pent-up demand for new homes is spurring the growth in Hawai'i Kai, real-estate experts say.

For more than two years, the area has been subjected to month after month of noise and dust from construction of at least five developments. And there's no end in sight.

In the past month, the developers of a Kalama Valley project announced they wanted to change the zoning on 3.2 acres of preservation land to allow for townhouse/ duplex development for 26 units that would sell in the $600,000 to $700,000 range. Just days before, Stanford Carr, developer of the 600-unit Peninsula project, unveiled a plan to build 200 houses in Kamilonui Valley on 87 acres that are now home to a farming community. And on Tuesday, developers discussed their plan to build Hale Ali'i, a 296-unit apartment and townhouse complex on Hawai'i Kai Drive near the O'ahu Club.

Nowhere is the growth more evident than on Hawai'i Kai's streets.

On any weekday morning, four-lane Lunalilo Home Road looks more like a parking lot. Residents attempt to skirt congested zones, creating back-up on other streets.

Kalaniana'ole Highway, which was widened in 1995 from four to six lanes at a cost of $86 million, is at capacity and even with contraflow can't handle the traffic.

Roughly 60,000 cars a day travel Kalaniana'ole, the only road into and out of East Honolulu. During morning peak traffic hours, the three town-bound lanes and the carpool lane pack in about 6,600 cars an hour, according to Rod Haraga, head of the state Department of Transportation.

The DOT has been looking for a way to improve the flow on Kalaniana'ole, but residents shot down a plan to extend the morning contra-flow lane from its Halema'uma'u Street starting point to Keahole Street.

Haraga acknowledged that a contraflow extension would only move traffic on Kalaniana'ole more quickly to the bottleneck on H-1 Freeway.

"Development is going so quickly that transportation can't keep up with it," Haraga told residents at an April 14 meeting at Koko Head Elementary School. "We're trying to figure out what we can do without spending a lot of money. There's no silver bullet unless we stop development completely."

Urban planning experts say stopping development doesn't have to be the answer.

It will take a communitywide effort to effect change, combined with public policy that embraces livability, not the ability to develop, said Karl Kim, a University of Hawai'i-Manoa professor of urban and regional planning. Piecemeal development creates havoc on a community. Instead, communities need to designate certain lands for building and provide mechanisms to reward developers who preserve land, Kim said.

"It's time now to consider these alternatives, because development is picking up again and the state and city needs to recommit itself to smart growth," Kim said. "You want livable, desirable communities. Economic growth and investment are good for the community. But developers need to recognize the value of open space and keeping the environment pristine and clean."

Communities need breathing spaces, Kim said, adding that a three-way partnership needs to be formed among policy-makers, the community seeking to preserve the environment and the developers who stimulate economic growth.

"Natural spaces that are open, not just for recreation, help maintain a quality of life," Kim said. "Communities need to go back to designing with nature in mind.

Urban planners recognize this. We have the opportunity to do these things, but because we just had this economic downturn, we tend to ignore the environment."

The key question is whether people want to live in a place that looks like every other in terms of urban sprawl, Kim said. If the answer is no, then a master plan that is strictly followed — unlike the city's development plan — needs to be put in place, rather than project-by-project approval.

The community's dissatisfaction with what's happening in Hawai'i Kai is a warning sign to policy-makers and developers that a big-picture plan may be in order, Kim said.

"The public is a barometer in terms of levels of concerns," he said. "So when the public begins to be concerned about traffic, congestion, loss of open space, that should be a wake-up call for government to pay attention. There's an imbalance between growth and development."

Residents' concerns are easy to fix, said Sen. Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua, Waimanalo, Portlock). The city has to stop issuing so many building permits. It's not too late, Hemmings said.

"All the building is causing a blight on the landscape," he said. "It's causing a hardship on the community. I'm hoping the mayor will hear the message."

Residents realize they cannot change what has already been approved, but they hope to influence decision-makers about new proposals.

The immediate goal of the Liveable Hawaii Kai Hui is to prevent development on the small farm lots at the back of Kamilonui Valley and behind Kaiser High School, and to keep land held in preservation zoning from being turned into housing.

"I believe at the heart of our community is the protection of the special features," Reilly said. "What makes Hawai'i Kai unique is Koko Crater, the marina and the unique agriculture valley."

Reilly vowed to keep up on the developments and try to increase community participation in policy-making, urging residents to continue to put the issue of preserving farmland and open space before lawmakers and city officials.

Kim, the urban planner, noted that Hawai'i is not alone in the struggle between environment, development and preservation. "The world is becoming urbanized," he said.

"We need to look at what we want our community to look like, and what is good for our environment in 100 years, 50 or even 20 years. What happens is all our problem. This is a long-standing conflict between economics and the environment. We need to invest time and energy to get involved, and that is what it will take to effect change."

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