The planning for two business projects along Kapahulu Avenue is moving forward this week, but residents are concerned about the effects of more development and congestion along the busy mauka-makai corridor.

The Safeway grocery chain is planning to build a more than 60,000-square-foot supermarket at Kapahulu Avenue and 'Olu Street, and hopes to start construction early next year. The company will hold a public meeting tonight and also will give a presentation to the Diamond Head/Kapahulu/St. Louis Heights Neighborhood Board tomorrow.

About 2,000 feet down the road toward Waikiki, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources is seeking a zoning change for a 24,400-square-foot parcel it owns at 548 Kapahulu Ave. The site is now used as a parking lot for area businesses.

The DLNR filed a draft environmental assessment for the property this week and is seeking public comments. The land is zoned residential, and the state is requesting a change to commercial.

If the zoning change is approved by city officials, the DLNR wants a commercial developer to lease the site, which borders the Ala Wai Golf Course. Permitted uses would include an office building, a restaurant or retail shops.

"With the lands that have the potential to be upgraded or up-zoned, we try to do that to generate revenues," said Charlene Unoki, assistant administrator of DLNR's land division. "We are looking at fully utilizing our property instead of having it be used as a parking lot."

Unoki said the property has been an eyesore since the Kapahulu Health Center burned on the site in 1996.

"In that corridor, the property has the potential to generate revenues," she said. "Hopefully, the tenant will work well with the Kapahulu community."

Karen Ah Mai, chairwoman of the Diamond Head/Kapahulu/St. Louis Heights Neighborhood Board, said the board's preference was to not put up another commercial building at the site, but instead leave more green space next to the Ala Wai Golf Course.

"That corridor right there is pretty open, and the golf course is a tremendous asset because of the green," Ah Mai said. "There are other things that could be done. I think it is the wrong thing for this community if you look at a 10-year horizon."

Concerns at the Safeway site, 870 Kapahulu Ave., include traffic congestion and road access for neighboring properties, said Kapahulu resident Doug Olivares.

"If a traffic light is put in at 'Olu and Kapahulu, the traffic will start backing up and will affect five to seven driveways," he said. "We already have a difficult time getting in and out of our driveways because Kapahulu has become a freeway. If they put that light there, we will never get in and out of our property."

Olivares said residents also are concerned that a gas station and mini-mart planned for the site will cause traffic jams similar to those at the Costco station in Iwilei.

"At Costco, sometimes the cars waiting in line go out into the street," he said. "That will just totally change the face of this neighborhood. We don't mind the market being built. We don't mind a few retail stores being built. We don't want the gas station, we don't want the mini-mart, we don't want the traffic light."

Steve Berndt, director of real estate for Safeway, said that tonight will be the third meeting to gather public comments, and that the grocery chain has listened to residents and adjusted its plans.

Berndt said the concerns on 'Olu Street were that it would become a shortcut to the store from Kaimuki, so they have proposed a median in the road to prevent access across Kapahulu Avenue.

He said the fuel center will be nothing like the one at Costco, and any lines would form on the property, not off.

"Everyone sees the Costco traffic backed up into the street, but that would be an unacceptable situation for me," he said. "We don't run our fuel centers that way. They are not as discounted as Costco. They are a convenience for customers, but they don't have the massive queue that Costco has."

Berndt said most people are supportive about the Safeway store and look forward to its opening.

"You don't want to do a grocery store and have it be alien to the community," he said. "You literally want to be a good neighbor. It's good business."