A Kalihi bike repair program for disadvantaged youth that was in danger of closing will stay put.

The Kalihi Valley Instructional Bike Exchange Program recently obtained approval for a zoning variance by the city Department of Permitting and Planning.

The program was in danger of shutting down after the city received a noise complaint from a neighbor in October because of a broken air compressor. The compressor was repaired, but the complaint led the city to issue a notice to Kokua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services, which oversees the program, that the bike repair program was operating in a residential zone.

The program is housed in part of a 3,700-square-foot storage warehouse at 1638 Kamehameha IV Road.

In July, Kokua Kalihi Valley applied for a zoning variance to keep the program at its site between Kalihi Valley Homes and Kuhio Park Terrace, the state’s two largest public housing projects. It serves as a safe haven for youth to interact and where gang "colors" are restricted.

In a Sept. 17 document, David Tanoue, director of the Department of Planning and Permitting, approved the variance, saying the program is an important component of Kokua Kalihi Valley. "The bicycle exchange program provides training for disadvantaged youths and it should be viewed in that context," Tanoue said. "Essentially, it does not rise to the level of a principal industrial use."

Under the conditions of the variance, Kalihi Valley Instructional Bike Exchange will be allowed to operate as long as it does not have a negative impact on neighbors. Kokua Kalihi Valley is to obtain a conditional-use permit to construct a 6-foot-high fence or plant dense shrubbery to serve as a buffer from adjacent residential homes. The program is also limited to operating between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

The program currently operates three days a week between four and five hours a day, but the organization plans to extend the number of days and hours of operation.

"We are delighted that we were successful" in getting the zoning variance, Dr. David Derauf, executive director of Kokua Kalihi Valley said.

The organization collected more than 200 signatures in support of the program.

Program volunteers teach youth about fixing bikes donated to the program and serve as mentors for the kids. When finished, kids earn a bike. About 30 bikes a month are reconditioned.