Stop residential development adjacent to Kakaako Waterfront Park

Message to Supporters from Hawaii’s Thousand Friends, February 23, 2014

• Oppose SB 3122 SD1 -- RELATING TO HAWAII COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (HCDA)
• Tuesday 2/25 hearing:  NOTICE
• Submit testimony online: LINK
• Submitting testimony online has changed.  You are now required to Sign In to submit your first testimony. OR
• Email Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor, Chair Clayton Hee: JDLtestimony@capitol.hawaii.gov

SB 3122 SD1 exempts OHA, now owner of several Kakaako Makai parcels, from the prohibition of residential development on land makai of Ala Moana Boulevard between Honolulu Harbor and Kewalo Basin.Residential development in Kakaako Makai was banned in 2006 by the legislature after massive citizen protests against an A&B proposal to construct several 200-foot condo towers there.

HCDA law §206E-31.5...prohibits the authority from: 

(2) Approving any plan or proposal for any residential development in that portion of the Kakaako community development district makai of Ala Moana Boulevard and between Kewalo Basin and the foreign trade zone.

From 2006 to 2010, in a planning process called by HCDA, people came together to guide the development of the Kakaako Waterfront for the benefit of not only the Kakaako community, but for all the people of Hawaii. (4/6/11 staff report) The result was a conceptual master plan for Kakaako Makai with 9 components, which included Park expansion/enhancement and waterfront access, including parking and circulation.

Oppose SB 3122 SD1 because:

It overturns the prohibition of residential development in Kakaako Makai.

It exempts OHA from the dedication of public facilities by developers as a condition of development in Kakaako. (HRS 206E-12).It is "special legislation" and violates the State Constitution, according to an Attorney General's representative. Remember Superferry?It allows residential development adjacent to Kakaako Waterfront Park, one of the last strips of open space and parkland with public access to the shoreline along the urban Honolulu coastline.

It eliminates open space, which will be needed for the anticipated 30,000+ residents in the 30 new high-rise towers proposed for Kakaako mauka of Ala Moana Boulevard.

Residential development will restrict open access to shoreline fishing, diving, and popular body boarding and surf sites, as well as a waterfront promenade, picnic areas, and significant panoramic views.

OHA knew of the residential restrictions when they accepted the Kakaako Makai property as settlement but now wants to change the law in order to develop 4 or 5 condo towers.

In 2006, when legislators prohibited residential development in Kakaako Makai, with only 1 lawmaker in each chamber opposing, it was evident that the legislature had spoken. Are legislators' votes only good for 8 years?