The city’s 2011 North Shore Sustainable Communities Plan for the district stretching from Kaena Point to Kawela Bay is being updated, and the public is invited to participate in online meetings hosted by the Department of Planning and Permitting.
From 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, a workshop entitled “Futures Symposium” is scheduled to examine scenarios for the North Shore’s future; and from Wednesday through July 30, an open house called “Policy Deep Dives” will host discussions of housing, jobs, land use, tourism, climate change, infrastructure and energy.
Seventy-four community members attended an online, kickoff meeting March 4, and a mail survey was conducted Feb. 5 through March 12 among North Shore residents and businesses, 1,244 of whom completed it for a maximum sampling error of plus or minus 2.6%.
Participants in the meeting and survey reaffirmed the 2011 plan’s vision and priorities and identified issues, such as climate change resiliency, that had grown in urgency.
Survey respondents’ top priorities for the North Shore included supporting a greater diversity of local businesses to create jobs and reduce dependence on tourism (57%).
Two-thirds of respondents were satisfied with efforts to keep development consistent with the North Shore’s rural character and to preserve historic features. More than half were satisfied with efforts to protect agricultural lands.
But 83% were dissatisfied with efforts to reduce traffic congestion, and 59% were dissatisfied with efforts to provide housing for all income levels.
Overall, top issues of concern were climate change resiliency, coastal water quality, traffic congestion and the burgeoning growth of North Shore tourism and illegal short-term vacation rentals, which, many complain, has worsened traffic, overburdened infrastructure and decreased the number of homes residents can rent.
Eighty-three percent of survey respondents supported limiting the number of hours and days that commercial tour operators can use North Shore beach parks.
Sixty-nine percent would support stronger enforcement against illegal, short-term vacation rentals (those situated outside resort areas and lacking permits); 65% supported allowing some new legal bed and breakfasts with on-site hosts, while 48% would oppose allowing some new legal whole-home vacation rentals.
Currently, Oahu has 759 legally permitted vacation rental homes outside resort areas.
“There are 71 vacation home permits on the North Shore, and hundreds of illegal ones — they’re just everywhere,” said Sharlyn Foo, a member of the North Shore Neighborhood Board and owner of Backpackers, which operates permitted vacation rentals.
“The 2011 sustainability plan said no more vacation rentals on the North Shore, but there is zero enforcement,” Foo said in a telephone interview Friday. “So it’s almost like, why do you have a plan?”
Meeting comments included “COVID has taken us to a new mindset — we realize we are too reliant on tourism;” “too many tourists and vacation rentals;” and that the updated plan should “require people to live here for 5-10 years to own property.”
Participants also called for protecting and conserving natural resources; adding medical clinics, a police substation and satellite city hall; expanding public shoreline access; and adding more bike paths and sidewalks.
Both groups recommended protecting and replenishing beaches from climate change impacts using natural solutions such as restoring coral reefs, sand dunes and native shoreline vegetation, and moving development and infrastructure away from the coast.
Eighty-three percent of respondents supported zero-tolerance enforcement against unpermitted seawalls and shoreline hardening.
The 2011 North Shore Sustainable Communities plan may be viewed at bit.ly/3iSwMmP; the March 4 meeting summary can be read at northshorescp.com/community-visioning-work shop-meeting-summary, and the survey results are posted at northshorescp.com/north-shore-issues-trends-survey- results.
Speakers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa at the June 30 meeting are scheduled to be Judith Stilgenbauer, professor and director of the Master of Landscape Architecture Program; Jairus Grove, assistant professor and director of the Hawai‘i Research Center for Futures Studies; and Mehana Blaich Vaughan, associate professor of the Sea Grant College Program.
Register for the meetings at northshorescp.com.
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SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES PLAN
>> When: Wednesday, 6-8 p.m. via Zoom
Part one of the workshop will be the Futures Symposium. The Zoom link will be provided upon registration at northshorescp.com. The second part of the workshop will be the Policy Deep Dives, an online open house that will be available Wednesday to July 30.
