KAKAAKO VIEW
View is key in new plans for Kakaako
By Mary Vorsino
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
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A new environmental review offers a peek at the future of Kaka'ako Mauka — and its skyline — and backs changes that would do more to preserve the view of the mountains from the ocean.
The draft supplemental environmental impact statement provides a comprehensive look at the 450-acre area and how future development could affect everything from view planes to traffic.
It was prepared as part of a lengthy process to update the Kaka'ako Mauka master plan.
The existing plan, adopted in 1982, encourages superblock developments with tall towers that would significantly reduce view planes.
The draft of the new master plan suggests lowering building heights along a section of Ala Moana boulevard and making narrow buildings to preserve some view planes and create a varied skyline.
The Hawai'i Community Development Authority, the quasi-state agency that oversees development in Kaka'ako, will use the master plan to guide growth in the urban area that's in the midst of a building boom.
Kaka'ako Mauka is projected to reach a population of 30,000 by 2030, up from about 6,000 now, the HCDA said.
The population increase represents a growth rate of 390 percent, the report pointed out, compared with the 24 percent growth rate for O'ahu from 2000 to 2030.
The number of jobs in the area is also expected to increase by about 9,000 over the next two decades, mostly in the service and retail sectors.
ISSUES OUTLINED IN REPORT
Highlights of the environmental review include:
The 215-page environmental review provides renderings of skyline "scenarios" under the draft and existing plans.
MORE DEVELOPMENT PROPOSED
The environmental review comes as HCDA is also considering a proposal to redevelop 60 acres at Ward Centers with new retail centers and eateries, office space and as many as 4,000 high-rise residential units.
A 20-year master plan for the so-called "Ward Neighborhood" was developed by Ward Centers owner General Growth Properties for the area that now houses Ward Warehouse, Ward Entertainment Center and Ward Centre.
The first phase of the Ward project is expected to kick off in 2011, when Ward Farmers Market and old warehouses will be razed to put in a pedestrian plaza.
General Growth needs approval from HCDA for its master plan, but Anthony Ching, director of HCDA, said that approval will likely be subject to the provisions and restrictions of the old Kaka'ako Mauka area plan — not the one that is currently being updated. That's because HCDA has 200 days to act on the developer's plan once it has received all the necessary documentation.
That 200-day clock hasn't yet started, but it is expected to this month.
Ching said he is in talks with General Growth on the new area plan and its suggested changes, including the proposed lowered height restrictions along Ala Moana boulevard, where the developer would likely seek to erect new high-rises.
Ching said growth in Kaka'ako can be measured — and smart.
And he said he hopes the population growth in the community will be with local residents — not second-home owners — who "choose as a lifestyle not to subscribe to the urban sprawl notion and believe we should populate our urban core."
But all the talk about continued growth in Kaka'ako has some residents worried.
Anne Stevens, chairwoman of the Ala Moana/Kaka'ako Neighborhood Board, said many residents want to see less urban growth and more open space and small businesses in the community, especially as a slew of high-rises have gone up in the area in recent years.
"We'd like to see more park space," Stevens said.
She also said there are concerns about how much the infrastructure in the community can handle. "Our board feels the stresses on the infrastructure are just becoming overwhelming," she said.
The environmental review follows more than a year of HCDA meetings with stakeholders, including residents, business owners and others, on the Kaka'ako Mauka area plan. The concepts of the draft plan have gone through a public review, but the plan itself will also be released for public comment sometime next year before it is finalized.
HCDA hopes to finalize the environmental review process late this year, clearing the way to approve the updated Kaka'ako Mauka master plan in mid- to late 2009.
Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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