The general public could get another chance to offer views on what constitutes the best use of public waterfront land in Kaka'ako under a proposal to be reviewed at a state meeting tomorrow.

The state Community Development Authority will consider forming an advisory committee that would guide development on state land on the Kaka'ako peninsula.

Such a committee could give the public a greater role in shaping future use of a site that recently has been the focus of a controversial private-public development plan involving two residential high-rise condominiums.

"It's really an opportunity to say, 'Is this a good idea?' " said Daniel Dinell, executive director of the semi-autonomous agency that has had difficulty redeveloping parts of the area makai of Ala Moana between Fort Armstrong and Ala Moana Beach Park.

No vote will be taken at tomorrow's meeting, which is at 9 a.m. in the agency's 10th-floor conference room at 677 Ala Moana.

The proposal to redevelop the Kaka'ako waterfront hit a snag when a House and Senate conference committee last week advanced a bill that would prohibit residential use of state land in the area. The measure, House Bill 2555, has a good chance of final passage because of bipartisan support. The House and Senate are expected to vote on it today.

Gov. Linda Lingle, who has supported the redevelopment, could still veto the bill but has not indicated whether she is inclined to do so. A two-thirds majority in the House and Senate would be needed to override a veto.

Dinell said the agency tomorrow likely will not discuss what role an advisory committee might play, such as whether the committee could be used to suggest modifications to the pending plan or start over with new development guidelines for the property.

"What we are suggesting is a process that will allow us to work with community and various stakeholders to bring about our legislatively mandated mission to join the strengths of private enterprise with public development and regulation," he said.

"There was certainly a public process before, but if it requires a different approach we are desirous of taking a leadership role in making that happen," Dinell continued. "The main point is that we are trying to move the discussion forward."

The agency has been criticized for not fully engaging the public in the planning process to remake 36.5 acres of mostly inaccessible industrial state property surrounding Kewalo Harbor.

Criticism largely surrounded the agency's procurement process that involved soliciting development proposals from the private sector and then keeping responses confidential until agency directors tentatively selected a preferred plan.

The plan by Alexander & Baldwin Inc. initially included three 20-story condo towers, an extension of Kaka'ako Waterfront Park, a public hula amphitheater, waterfront promenade, farmers market, shops, restaurants and a pedestrian bridge over Kewalo Harbor channel.

A&B suggested it would pay the state $50 million for six acres of slightly inland property on which to build 947 condo units, and lease the rest of the land under an agreement that would earn the state revenue.

The condos, according to A&B and the agency, were an integral piece of the project to help pay for public improvements, including maintaining the existing waterfront park, and generate more vibrant activity in the area.

Some residents endorsed the plan, but others expressed shock over the condo element in A&B's project, which was among six other development plans with condos submitted in response to a January 2005 agency request for proposals.

A&B in December eliminated one tower and the pedestrian bridge in response to the community outcry. But some residents still objected to the plan, and relentlessly lobbied lawmakers to stop the project.

Besides the bill that would block the project, a House resolution endorsed by the Senate encourages the agency to form a committee that includes opponents of the pending development plan to devise an alternate plan.

The agency has said it will be responsive to the Legislature, and has waited to take further action on A&B's plan.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.