After a shaky beginning, the way could be clearing for a development that might provide something that's in short supply in Wa'ianae:

Affordable rental units.

The $50 million-plus Hale Wai Vista affordable rental housing project would provide 215 apartments, some renting for as little as $481 a month, in an area where hundreds of newly homeless people live in tents along the coast.

Experts have blamed skyrocketing rents and a declining inventory of affordable rentals for the crisis.

The community is acutely aware of the need for rental relief. But when a private nonprofit developer recently proposed more than 200 affordable two- and three-bedroom apartments next to the Wai'anae Mall, the Wai'anae Coast Neighborhood Board voted not to support the project.

The reason: Hale Wai Vista didn't comply with the local sustainable community plan, which restricts building heights to 40 feet. One proposed building was 70 feet tall.

"They didn't want to follow the rules," said board member Jo Jordan. "They didn't want to pay attention to what our sustainable community plan states."

"We support the concept," added board chairwoman Patty Teruya. "But they need to work on the height."

PARKING, TRAFFIC WOES

There were also concerns about adequate parking and potential traffic congestion in the area, Jordan and Teruya said. But the height requirement seemed to be the sticking point.

The developer, the Hawai'i Housing Development Corporation, had sought an exemption. It also came up with a 60-foot-high version. But after two presentations before the neighborhood board and a Thursday night community meeting with state Rep. Maile Shimabukuro, D-45th (Wai'anae, Makaha), it had become clear the community wasn't going to bend.

"We're not just going to roll over," Jordan said.

Yesterday, the project's planning and zoning consultant said he is reasonably certain the development can be built in compliance with the 40-foot maximum height requirement.

"We are seriously going to look into bringing it down to 40 feet," said Keith Kurahashi, of Kusao & Kurahashi. "It costs quite a bit more, but the neighborhood board has made it clear they cannot support us unless we get it down."

Kurahashi said the project should still be doable, but lowering the height will make it cost more. Tax credits, state money and rental income won't cover construction costs, so additional funds will have to be found. He also said the project would take longer to complete and could extend beyond the original late 2008 completion date.

The mission of the Hawai'i Housing Development Corp. is to build affordable rentals, said Gary Furuta, project manager for the company. So far the company has concentrated on affordable urban units for Honolulu's senior citizens. It has completed around a half-dozen such projects and is in the process of finishing several others.

The Wai'anae project — which would be aimed at families earning 30, 50 and 60 percent of Honolulu's median family income — would be the company's first rural commitment, Furuta said. Additional project costs could add to the final unit rental prices, but as they stand now, the two-bedroom units would rent for $481 to $742 a month, depending on family income. The three-bedroom units would range between $837 and $885, Kurahashi said.

AMBITIOUS PROJECT

The project is the largest and most ambitious of more than a half-dozen similar plans that are in the works or planning stages for the Wai'anae Coast. Part of the region's homeless crisis has been pinned on a lack of affordable housing and rental development over the past decade.

Teruya said she thinks the affordable rental project would be welcome if it were built in accordance with the sustainable community plan, which is meant to keep Wai'anae rural.

"Hale Wai Vista is a good project," she said. "We want to work with them. But we need to look at the environmental impact. I think if they come back and say let's work with the community, I think the community and the board would go along with it."

Furuta was optimistic that any differences could be settled.

"We will work it out with the community one way or the other," he said. "We're not going to satisfy everyone. But we'll get it done. We're not bad neighbors; we're good neighbors. And affordable rentals are really needed in Wai'anae."

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.