It’s not a surprise that one of the first grassroots issues state Rep. Diamond Garcia encountered on his first campaign in 2022 was in the Villages of Kapolei, where residents have felt like stepchildren of the city government for decades. Paying property taxes had meant nothing when it came to claiming municipal services other homeowners take for granted — due to a state-city dispute over ownership of some 100 roadways in the area and their upkeep.
That simply has to change, and change now, said the Republican legislator representing the area, and he’s right. Belatedly, elected leaders and administrative officials at both the state and city levels have been working to put the development on a better path after 40 years.
In the intervening decades, Garcia added, there have been scattered workarounds to manage eyesores or other problems before they loom too large. For example, he said, City Councilmember Andria Tupola, who approves proposed state legislation, has worked to enlist private partners to handle some of the towing needs that have arisen.
Various legislative strategies now moving through the state Capitol are pressing for a resolution. The straightforward approach in a surviving measure, Senate Bill 662, which seeks to compel the city to take over custody of the streets by January, seems the most efficient way to ensure the residents get relief sooner rather than later.
The Villages comprise a master-planned community of 4,025 homes, but clearly, its planning was anything but a masterwork.
That’s because in 1988, a law passed that would fast-track the development at a time when a shortage of affordable housing was already reaching a crisis point. It was overseen by the state Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. (HHFDC), which generally handles public financing for affordable housing projects.
But because the Villages were fast-tracked and did not first get city permits for its roughly 100 roadways, the city refused to take over those streets. That has left HHFDC at the helm of road maintenance, which is plainly not its strong suit.
This also meant that, despite paying property taxes, homeowners calling on the city for services, ranging from abandoned vehicle tows to police enforcement of parking rules, were frustrated in getting much, if any, attention.
What’s even more astounding is that the government has made virtually no course correction, for so many decades.
Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s administration is taking this on. In September 2022 city officials agreed to accept ownership and maintenance of the roads if the state would improve them to city standards, but that has been a slow process. HHFDC Director Dean Minakami estimated the total cost at $90 million or more and said it would take 10 years to complete.
That is an intolerable delay, heaped on what Villages residents already have endured, and officials realized that. City Managing Director Mike Formby said the parties are now agreed that the city will take over the streets if the state provides funds for remediation. They’re getting closer, within the range of $40 million to $60 million to settle all this.
Garcia said he wanted to set a deadline for accord, and so he introduced House Bill 157. That bill has stalled, but its identical companion — SB 662, introduced by state Sen. Mike Gabbard — has survived and deserves to advance. It seeks to compel HHFDC and the city to come to terms and make the transfer of streets by Jan. 1, 2026.
Another bill, HB 800, would add a new wrinkle by proposing transfers of state land to the city as part of the settlement. That could be a discussion for a later date.
But the time has come to add real pressure to drive city-state negotiations to completion, for the sake of the Villages of Kapolei residents. Passing SB 662 could accomplish that.
Correction: An earlier version of this editorial gave a wrong bill number for House Bill 800.
