Kapolei is starting to take shape as a Second City — or it will, if lawmakers support the latest effort to build up its critical mass.

That effort is the proposal to build a new Judiciary complex for Family Court in Kapolei. The new complex would expand the cramped accommodations downtown and consolidate scattered and related facilities.

The idea is drawing complaints from attorneys, staff and others who note the inconvenience this move will pose for them and for residents of communities far from the 'Ewa plain.

This is not the first effort by public agencies to "seed" the development of Kapolei by transferring government functions there. Recently the state broke ground on new headquarters for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in East Kapolei.

Perhaps the DHHL project was an easier sell because O'ahu's largest Hawaiian homestead communities — the agency's beneficiaries — are nearby.

The center of the island's general population has shifted westward, but critics of the Judiciary move say it would mean a long drive for many.

That's true, but it's clear this court division desperately needs more space, which is far harder to secure in town than Kapolei. Planners also are exploring ways to accommodate East O'ahu residents with satellite facilities and teleconference technology in town.

The plan will further the best interest of the courts and the future reach of the Judiciary, and it merits funding support by state lawmakers.