KANE'OHE — Kamehameha Schools is moving forward with plans to build a new 108-student preschool on the site of a former park in the Haiku Villages subdivision, officials said yesterday.

If the school receives necessary permits from the city, it could be open for students by the fall of 2009, said Marsha Bolson, communications director for Kamehameha Schools.

Preparations for the school have been in the works for at least two years but have been stalled by opposition from some area residents. However, the latest plan, which includes allowing area residents to use part of the site as a park during nonschool hours, appears to have won over many neighbors, officials said.

"The opponents have quieted down a lot," said Roy Yanagihara, chair of the Kane'ohe Neighborhood Board. "I think the school has done a good job of addressing community concerns and working with the residents."

The new plans call for the school to include one classroom center and three other buildings attached by covered walkways and lanais. All of the buildings will be one-story, permanent construction, rather than temporary modular buildings as originally proposed for the site, Bolson said.

The construction will cover about one acre, with the remaining land being left in open space. Although the property will be fenced as required by law, residents will be allowed to use the remaining open space during nonschool hours, she said.

When the Haiku Villages subdivision was developed in the 1970s, the two-acre site was originally designated as preservation. The former Haiku Village Community Association used to collect fees to maintain the area as a park and pay for insurance, but when the master lease ended in 1994, residents declined to sign a new lease and the land reverted to Kamehameha Schools, which has designated it for educational use ever since. However, residents said they continued to use the open land and value it for its views.

Earlier this year, the City Council changed zoning for the site from preservation to residential, and last week Kamehameha Schools filed a request for a city conditional use permit to operate a school there.

"A year ago the idea for the school was still very contentious, but when the school gave a presentation on their plans at our last meeting in June, only two residents attended and they were both in favor of the new plan," Yanagihara said.

Studies have shown that preschools are in demand on the Windward side, with about 1,300 children of preschool age living in Kane'ohe and Kahalu'u and only 13 schools in the area serving about 700 students, Bolson said. The new school will initially open with 72 students but be expanded to 108 students if there is a demand, she said.

Admission preference will be given to students of Hawaiian ancestry. Staggered pick-up and drop-off times for students will help keep traffic build-ups in the residential neighborhood to a minimum, she said.

Kamehameha Schools will continue to operate a preschool in a temporary site in an unused Windward Mall parking lot until the new school is open, she said. The existing school was hastily constructed using modular buildings after Kamehameha Schools closed two other Windward preschools; it was never meant to be permanent, Bolson said.

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.