Decision on Kamehameha Ha'iku rezoning on hold
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
A move by Kamehameha Schools to rezone land in Ha'iku Village to build a preschool has been postponed again while the developer works to strike a compromise with the community.
Kamehameha Schools is asking for a zone change from preservation to residential for a little more than two acres in Kane'ohe bordered by Ha'iku Road and Kahuhipa, Kuneki and Makena streets in the residential subdivision.
City Council chairwoman Barbara Marshall, who also is the council member for the district, supported the deferral at the Zoning Committee yesterday as a chance to give time for the developer and nearby residents to shape an agreement that works for both sides.
Community members have objected to building on the green space, saying the creation of a preschool there will add traffic congestion and parking concerns to the neighborhood. The matter was postponed in August.
Marshall said the community just received the latest proposal from the developer and needed time to respond.
"I think we're so close," she said. "I think (residents) have given a lot. They're just trying to get some protections in."
In written testimony, resident Honiala Morales said the community is seeking several conditions, including:
Ha'iku Village resident Mark Beatty testified yesterday that he objects to the zone change. He said he bought his home in 1996 partly with the expectation that the land would remain an open green space.
City Planning and Permitting Director Henry Eng said his department recommended this zoning change partly because the parcel is surrounded by a residential community.
Marshall said she shares Beatty's concern in general about the wisdom of changing preservation zoning to residential, even in the midst of a residential community.
She said the city should be "extremely cautious" in any move to rezone preservation land. "Pretty soon, we have no green space," she said.
Vincent Shigekuni, of PBR Hawai'i, which is working for Kamehameha Schools, said his firm will continue to work with residents on a unilateral agreement that will help respond to their concerns.
Among them was a change from an earlier proposal to use modular buildings for the preschool. Since then, Shigekuni said the developer determined that the buildings would be constructed on concrete foundations rather than being portable-type structures.
"We're going to build," he said.
Beatty said he wondered if the city still would have agreed to the request if an individual rather than the influential landowner applied to change the preservation zoning.
Eng said the city does not have a one-size-fits-all policy on such approvals. "We'd have to look at the circumstances," he said.
Zoning Committee chairman Charles Djou urged both sides to seek a compromise.
"Try to get together," Djou said. "Work out some kind of consensus."
The committee meets monthly and could take up the decision at its next meeting. Approval then would poise the measure for final council approval.
Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.
