Ala Wai harbor effort draws criticism

The memory of the state’s failed public-private partnership at the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor was still fresh enough to elicit strong opposition Tuesday in Waikiki to any attempt at a new partnership.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) and its consultant DTL attended a Waikiki Neighborhood Board meeting Tuesday to gather community input on how to redevelop up to four harbor sites.

The harbor lacks services and is unattractive, run-down, smelly and suffering from enforcement issues with homelessness, drugs and illegal parking, according to public comments collected by DTL, a Honolulu-based consultant.

The public wants redevelopment to reflect the harbor’s boating and navigational history and to restore the reef, said Lehua Ka‘uhane, DTL principal for community planning. People want a safe, clean place to surf, boat, watch fireworks, and spend time with friends and family, Ka‘uhane said. They also want “a world-class marina, the gem of Oahu or even the Pacific,” she said.

The need for boating amenities, landscaped central gathering spaces, transportation access, educational signage and maybe even a visitor’s center has been discussed, Ka‘uhane said.

What the public is skeptical about is any effort to improve the harbor via a public-private partnership.

A previous such partnership with Honey Bee USA fell apart last year. The Honey Bee project, which would have put a retail, boating and wedding venue project on prime state-owned waterfront land, was conceived under Gov. Linda Lingle’s administration as a public-private partnership that would provide taxpayers with needed services without draining state coffers.

Instead, Honey Bee went bankrupt and surrendered the property to the state in 2016, leaving a wake of creditors, including the state, which was owed about $1 million for unpaid rent and fees. It also left the Waikiki community frustrated by a lingering construction site and lack of access to a fuel dock and a boat repair facility, which were torn down to make way for the development.

“Back in 2016, when the state realized that the Honey Bee development was no longer a viable option, DOBOR decided to really use it as an opportunity to pause to take a step back and to go back to the community to hear … what the public’s vision is for the future of the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor,” Ka‘uhane said at the board meeting.

DTL launched the process with a public meeting in July that 110 people attended. Ka‘uhane said DTL will use feedback from that meeting and from eight stakeholder meetings, including the one Tuesday in Waikiki, to create three concepts for DOBOR to use as reference in developing a request for proposal(s).

Some residents at the Waikiki meeting said they appreciated DTL’s process. But judging from the majority of comments, this latest redevelopment effort may be a tough sell in Waikiki, especially since there is no guarantee that revenues won’t be used to subsidize improvements at other state harbors.

Rob Johnson, Ilikai association general manager, said talk of a public-private partnership is highly concerning for the building’s 1,061 owners.

“I currently understand that there are four major developers who are very active and eager to get their fingers into this project. The only reason that happens is for their profit,” Johnson said.

Waikiki resident Dave Moskowitz said the state should not allow high-rise condominiums or massive development that blocks views, takes away from the harbor’s boating mission and interferes with the public’s access to affordable ocean recreation.

“If you are trying to develop this into something other than a gas dock, a maintenance place for boats, a place for docks to be sold, then I think you are so wrong,” said Waikiki Neighborhood Board member Kathryn Henski.

Feedback from Tuesday’s meeting and future meetings will be provided to DOBOR, Ka‘uhane said. The next meeting is slated for November, she said. DTL also is soliciting feedback online at Envision AlaWaiSmallBoatHarbor.com.