The City Council is refocusing its plan for the island's fastest-growing district, comprising communities between 'Ewa Beach and Ko Olina.

It's about time. This latest draft of the 'Ewa Development Plan has not been revised since 1997. It contains important areas of concern that should be reviewed by the public and city policy-makers as the "Second City" builds out.

And after appropriate review, the council should adopt the plan without further delay.

The 'Ewa draft is one of eight regional plans for O'ahu that play an essential role in guiding the long-term development of the island.

These plans are evolving documents that translate broad land-use boundaries drawn by state planners into more specific blueprints. These guide decisions on zoning and building permits.

The 'Ewa draft includes:

• Better-connected road networks, with pedestrian walkways and bikeways to relieve some of the residents' reliance on car transport and create a more liveable neighborhood.

• Increased height limits in the Kapolei civic center and mixed-use district and other provisions to encourage the development of an urban and suburban employment hub.

• A more detailed plan along the rail transit corridor, now that the route and stop locations have been firmed up.

More than 40 percent of the area's residential development acreage is already zoned; the city crafted urban plans and agreements with those developers to ensure that builders provide the needed roads and other public facilities.

However, these individual agreements can't substitute for the broad view that acknowledges how separate neighborhoods affect each other. Second City dwellers can attest to that, having seen traffic-jammed 'Ewa residents cut through Kapolei to the H-1.

That's why it's critical that this updated plan be implemented as soon as possible so that its provisions can guide the half of the development that remains. About 2,800 acres still require rezoning.

In addition, almost 1,600 acres are controlled by either the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands or the Hawai'i Community Development Authority. Both agencies can exempt themselves from city zoning and land use regulations. But clearly it's in the best interest of all the residents if these government agencies closely coordinate their planning, regardless. The council should seeking alignments between state projects and the vision for 'Ewa communities in this plan.

The economic downturn may complicate progress on some developments for the short term. But the doldrums ultimately will ease and the council must ensure that the plan's guidelines are reflected in zoning decisions made when markets again drive projects to completion.