A state agency yesterday approved a master plan for the owner of Ward Centers to redevelop 60 acres of its land in Kaka'ako into a dense urban village of largely residences and retail that could include 20 high-rise buildings.

The approval by the Hawai'i Community Development Authority followed a public hearing in October at which support and opposition was about evenly split among roughly 50 people who testified on the project dubbed Ward Neighborhood.

Yesterday's decision by agency board members, who voted 8-1 in favor of the plan, gives landowner General Growth Properties a broad framework to redevelop its property over 15 years.

The framework is based on agency rules defining such things as maximum density, building heights and requirements to provide public facilities and moderate-priced housing.

Jan Yokota, General Growth's local vice president of development, said the company was pleased with the decision. "We've been working on this for almost two years," she said. "It's been a very long process."

General Growth doesn't expect to begin an initial phase comprising a central pedestrian plaza replacing old warehouses and Ward Farmers Market until next year.

A few new requirements became part of the master plan yesterday as a result of a challenge by the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., which sought for General Growth to produce an environmental assessment or environmental impact study.

The group was granted a quasi-judicial hearing before the HCDA to address cultural concerns that included potential disturbance of human remains during construction.

About 60 sets of iwi, or bones, became a major issue for ongoing construction of a complex that includes a parking garage and Whole Foods Market store on the Ward property.

The Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. settled its case before a hearing was held, but a hearings officer still reviewed elements of General Growth's plan and produced several agreements with the landowner that are now part of the plan.

Under the settlement with Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., General Growth will use technological and historical resources to predict where burials may exist on its property before producing detailed design plans. General Growth also must conduct archeological and architectural surveys before obtaining development permits.

As part of the hearing process, General Growth agreed to several other conditions, including providing relocation assistance to business displaced by development, and preparing traffic impact studies. One study will be at the regional level before any development permits are sought. Other traffic studies will be produced for individual projects within the master plan.

In another change, the HCDA concluded that extending the 15-year life of the master plan isn't permitted under its rules. General Growth said agency rules appear to allow granting extensions if the plan is being implemented to the board's satisfaction, and noted that the agency allowed for extensions to a previous master-planned project.

But after review by the Attorney General's office, the rule was deemed to prohibit any plan from running beyond 15 years, meaning future changes to agency rules would apply to unbuilt portions of the Ward plan after Jan. 14, 2024. The agency said General Growth may ask the board to amend the rule to allow extensions.

The agency also denied several exemptions to existing rules that General Growth had sought. One exemption was to position buildings along Ala Moana closer to the road than allowed, which would make it possible to orient more towers with their narrow sides facing mauka and makai to enhance view planes.

The developer also had sought to exceed height limits for tower bases, which would allow bases to feature more shops and restaurants that encourage pedestrian activity, and concentrate more uses in individual buildings instead of developing more buildings with the same amount of space.

HCDA board members denied the exemptions in another 8-1 vote. The agency concluded that it would be more appropriate to consider exemptions when detailed design plans are available for specific construction sites.

General Growth envisions as many as 4,300 residential units spread among 20 buildings, with some as high as 400 feet and five positioned along Ala Moana opposite the Kewalo Basin commercial boat harbor. Of the residential units, 860 units will be reserved for rent or sale at moderate prices under HCDA rules.

Retail would continue to be a major presence, with space for about 400 retail tenants, up from about 300 today. Three landscaped pedestrian plazas covering about 5 acres, 9,600 parking spaces, 700,000 square feet of industrial space and a connection to a mass-transit station planned by the city in the vicinity are also part of the plan.

The project would eventually replace all existing structures in the area bounded by Ala Moana, Queen Street, a cluster of blocks just 'ewa of Ward Avenue, and the IBM Building. Everything in the area — including Ward Warehouse, Ward Centre and Ward Entertainment Center — would be redeveloped except for the Whole Foods complex.

Supporters of the plan include members of the construction trade and business or economic groups, though there also are some Honolulu residents who said they like the idea of well-planned dense urban growth as an alternative to building single-family homes on large tracts of agricultural land in Central and Leeward O'ahu.

Opponents say they are concerned over the lack of an environmental review and the project's impact on traffic, view planes and the urban skyline near the waterfront. Some opponents also have questioned the financial ability of General Growth to execute its plan.

Chicago-based General Growth has been rocked by the recent financial crisis that has hobbled the company's ability to refinance or repay huge amounts of debt.

The company said it intends to proceed with its redevelopment plan, but is also considering selling parts of its portfolio, including its Hawai'i properties.

General Growth bought Ward Centers in 2002 from Honolulu-based Victoria Ward Ltd., which had its own plans for a lower-density version of an urban village on the site but had not obtained a master plan.