Part of the shock of all the new Kakaako construction is that Honolulu’s climbing cranes have been silent for years.
Still, this week’s action is more than just "thumbs up" for development. It marks an open declaration by the Hawaii Community Development Authority that it need not be accountable.
On Wednesday the HCDA approved a second project that will construct in total more than 1,000 apartment units, some smaller than 400 square feet on the 3.4-acre site of the old Honolulu Advertiser building.
Instead of open space between the two buildings, two 10-story parking garages will make alleys out of the space between the 400-foot condos.
Technically the project is being called "workforce housing," but in honesty, it should be called "places to stay for less than three-quarters of a million dollars."
The workforce designation is important for a couple of reasons. First, Gov. Neil Abercrombie will be able to put on his work boots and say he believes in Honolulu’s working families by supporting projects like this. And developers will be able to use the legal definition of "workforce housing" to put up buildings that are taller, denser, with less open space and are less energy efficient than if they were built with traditional guidelines.
"Our goal is to add new condominium units to Hono-lulu’s inventory with modern safety and design features that working residents of our community can afford. To do so, the project does not offer the many amenities and features that characterize the market-priced condominium projects in Kakaako," said developer Marshall Hung in a recent opinion piece in this newspaper.
Demand always exceeds supply. The laws of economics, however, can still be tempered with the rules of good urban planning and respect for community involvement in the planning process.
Since its inception, the HCDA has been criticized for plugging its ears when faced with community opposition. First there were complaints during the construction of roads and sewer lines in the area that forced out local small businesses, and more protests when big, rich developers announced plans for condos along Kakaako’s makai portions.
Whenever HCDA stomped too hard, the Legislature would be forced to push back. Lawmakers today are now exploring several ways to not just push back against the HCDA, but redraw the HCDA template.
Before Wednesday’s hearing, Rep. Scott Saiki, state House Democratic leader, and his Senate counterpart, Sen. Brickwood Galuteria, had asked for more public hearings before making a decision. Their request was denied.
The pair of legislative leaders and their colleagues will soon have their chance to answer when the Legislature meets next month.
Saiki said with each HCDA decision approving another project filled with exemptions and variances, more legislators are considering it to be "an example of a state agency that believes it (is) above the law."
The problem, according to Saiki, is that with HCDA’s often-used ability to grant exemptions and variances to its own planning rules, the public has no basis to trust the agency.
"It is not required to follow its own rules," Saiki said, adding that he was told one project was going to be held up because the HCDA had not processed all its paperwork, only to have the authority give its approval 24 hours later.
Saiki’s warning that "if the governor is not going to step in, the Legislature needs to," means 2014 could be the year for a new sort of change in Kakaako.
Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.
