Growing pains have returned.

With a massive five-hotel expansion planned at the Turtle Bay Resort, and up to 15,000 proposed new homes in 'Ewa, residents are once again wondering how much growth is too much.

The concern is not new.

A poll done in 1989, amid the last real estate boom, found 73 percent of O'ahu residents agreed with the statement: "The island where I live has pretty much reached its limits in terms of development." Majorities on Maui and Kaua'i also agreed.

In the decade that followed, Mililani Mauka was created, the number of housing units in 'Ewa increased by 127 percent, and the total number of housing units on O'ahu approached 316,000.

By 2030, the city expects the number of units on O'ahu to climb to 429,000, led by a doubling of the number of units in 'Ewa today, and 30 percent growth in Central O'ahu.

The debate over development — or overdevelopment — closely tracks the business cycle. Alarm at the pace of growth surged in the late 1970s and again in the late 1980s, but waned in the 1990s after the Japanese investment bubble burst, Hurricane Iniki clobbered Kaua'i and the state's economy sagged.

CONCERNS ARE BACK

Today, angst has re-emerged. There are calls for a moratorium on development on Kaua'i, and motorists on Maui, on O'ahu and in Kona on the Big Island rage at clogged roadways that were never designed to hold so many vehicles.

'Ewa residents bemoan the time it takes just to get on the freeway, even as The Schuler Division of D.R. Horton Inc. announces tentative plans to develop up to 15,000 more homes in the area in the next 20 to 30 years. That project could be O'ahu's largest master-planned complex.

There is no law or technical study that will tell Hawai'i residents when the growth must stop, planners agree. And while specific developments have encountered local resistance, Henry Eng, City Planning and Permitting Department director, said he sees nothing to indicate community consensus that growth should stop.

Laura H. Thielen, director of the state Office of Planning, said demand for housing causes many people to accept the need for continued development and growth.

"I think most people are aware of the fact they would like a place for their children to be able to stay in Hawai'i, and that we are going to have to deal with some growth," Thielen said. "The concern is, are we also planning for protection and for preserving a lifestyle in Hawai'i and a sense of place in Hawai'i? If they feel that is truly being integrated into a planning effort, there's more comfort."

STUDIES PLANNED

State Sen. Russell Kokubun, who is chairman of the Hawai'i 2050 Sustainability Task Force, said the group is planning a series of technical studies that will more explicitly set out the trade-offs Hawai'i is making as it grows.

The task force, which was created by the state Legislature last year, is planning a series of studies that will examine questions such as, how much land development and population Hawai'i can support, and how much water is available.

The group is also proposing studies to try to forecast "quality of life" as the state grows and changes. The task force said in its first report to Gov. Linda Lingle it is time to act to "assure the future for the people of Hawai'i."

"We're really going to need to change our behavior patterns, I think, if we want to continue to enjoy the level of the quality of life that we have now," Kokubun said.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.