Legislators encouraged to revisit HCDA mandate

Since its inception in 1976 as the Kakaako Community Development District, the Hawaii Community Development Authority has become something of a legislative octopus, with its growing tentacles grasping more and more.

It started as the result of a city-state tug-of-war over planning for the district, although nothing back then was close to what is being envisioned today.

Early in his administration, Gov. Neil Abercrombie stunned many by proposing a 650-foot high-rise in Kakaako. Awarding the contract for the tower to be built on state land would be handled by the Kakaako Development District’s successor, the HCDA.

Then the shock continued through last week when the HCDA rolled out more plans calling for three, 700-foot high-rises to be built.

The HCDA has a nearly impenetrable webpage (http://dbedt.hawaii.gov/hcda) and a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/HawaiiCommunityDevelopmentAuthority) brimming with social media perkiness, but getting the whole picture is still tough.

State Rep. Scott Saiki, D-McCully-Downtown, is the representative for the Kaka-ako district, an area he first got last year because of reapportionment.

Saiki, along with several other legislators and members of the City Council, are starting to have misgivings about the benefits of an appointed agency dedicated to developing a specific area, with almost no public checks and balances.

"We need to revisit it, going back to its enactment in 1976. The Legislature created HCDA, so it is incumbent on us to see if this pro- cess is still working. I think the process can be improved," said Saiki, who is House Democratic leader and an architect of the new group running the state House.

Like state Rep. Sylvia Luke, finance chairwoman, Saiki fears that concerns of the Legislature are being set aside as the Hawaii government bureaucracy churns along.

"There is an accountability issue here,’ Saiki said.

Two things bother Saiki: The HCDA is not only approving many big developments with little public input, but it is also granting many exemptions to state laws set in place to guide development. Last year, Saiki introduced a bill to require that before any HCDA exemptions for things such as building height or alignment or density are granted, the Legislature would also have to approve them. The bill didn’t pass, but it shows that Saiki is concerned.

His concern is about the broad power given to the HCDA, which, because it was created to outflank the city, operates without county approvals.

"My general point is I want to improve the HCDA process," Saiki said. "Development can be appropriate if it is balanced, and conducive to the surrounding area."

His final point — and it is an issue from which this legislative session is still twitching — is the concern of an unaccountable government agency having unilateral development authority over our scarce and valuable land.

Fearing that the HCDA could be considered anoth-er version of the recently repealed Public Land Development Corp., Saiki said talking — not building — is what is needed this summer.

"The HCDA is like a mini-PLDC. The exemptions are not as broad, but because it is autonomous, unilateral decisions can be made, and it enjoys exemptions from other government regulations," Saiki said.

It is a good start to changing the whole Kakaako dialogue.

Good development has broad sidewalks, lots of green spaces between high-rises, with schools put into the mix. It comes about because someone has publicly answered questions such as: What happens when 10,000 new Kakaako residents all go to work at the same time? Where do they park? And do we know how to say "Enough is enough"?

———

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.