City should OK plans for quarry expansion
Compromise is an art — the required give-and-take can be difficult.
And nobody is going to be entirely happy when the object is to expand Makakilo Quarry, which is adjacent to the residential community of Kapolei. The two land uses are not easily compatible.
But when the need for building materials on a still-developing island and the efforts of quarry operator Grace Pacific Corp. to soften the impact are factored in, the case to approve the expansion is all but made.
Grace Pacific's permit application should get a thumbs-up from the city planning department before the issue moves to a Planning Commission hearing next month.
Consider the realities:
Both of those concessions make sense and have helped to defuse some of the community opposition to the project. The Villages of Kapolei Community Association board of directors has rescinded its opposition, although many residents would prefer the quarry were elsewhere.
But it's necessary and not easily relocated. Mines are located where the good-quality minerals are found, and Grace Pacific already has tested other locations.
The city's job is to let the work continue, and see that the company meets its pledge to be good neighbors.
