More homes in Koolauloa?

Koolauloa has always been a bucolic, low-density part of Oahu, so it’s no surprise that efforts to develop more housing and increase the population in the area have encountered strong resistance.

Nonetheless, a plan to build more homes in the Laie area continues to move forward. The City Council on second reading approved amending the Koolauloa Sustainable Communities Plan. It would allow Hawaii Reserves Inc. (HRI), the land-management arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to build 400 additional housing units — 200 on the BYU-Hawaii campus and the rest in an area that straddles the Laie-Malaekahana border.

It’s billed as a compromise: HRI had wanted to build a whole new community on open agricultural land in Malaekahana. But any expansion of the urban boundary in the area comes with risks. Traffic and an eroding coastline already pose challenges for the two-lane stretch of Kamehameha Highway. Required infrastructure upgrades could be a heavy burden on taxpayers.

And unless closely regulated, expanding communities will continue to expand, especially in desirable areas along the Windward Coast. Kathy Sokugawa, director of the city’s Department of Planning and Permitting, noted that if the Council is serious about limiting development to a specific area, “I would suggest that that be put in the text of the plan.” Sound advice.

Koolauloa has long been envisioned as rural and agricultural, a counterweight to the dense urbanization of other parts of crowded Oahu. That’s why movements like Keep the Country Country have been so influential. The Council would do well to protect beautiful Koolauloa for future generations.

Private roads for public uses

Another redevelopment project, another access-road dispute.

The latest brouhaha involves the new Hale Mahana collegiate rental housing tower in Moiliili, across Puck’s Alley. When the tower opened Thursday, the sole road leading to its parking garage — Kahuna Lane — had been painted with “PRIVATE ACCESS” and diagonal lines, and not by the tower’s developer.

There’s no question that the $110 million building — with housing for 590 students, teachers and staffers — fills a need for the University of Hawaii-Manoa and nearby schools. But what remains in question is use of Kahuna Lane, for decades a public thoroughfare, but now raising concerns for The Malulani Group, which owns a block-long stretch of the lane next to Kokua Market.

In June 2017, Malulani Group filed suit, claiming that the tower, with 200 parking stalls plus 84 moped spaces and 208 bike spaces, will overburden and make unsafe its segment of the lane. The tower developer denies that and objected to Malulani’s call to improve a broader segment of the lane with such features as storm drains and sidewalks.

All this contentiousness harkens to two other road-use conflicts: one pitting two brothers’ ownership claims of several publicly used Kakaako roads against nearby businesses who object to the brothers charging for once-free, on-street parking; and in Haleiwa, where a road long used by a couple of homes is now often blocked due to Kamehameha Schools’ retail redevelopment.

Expect more lane disputes, a legacy of increasing urbanism. Private claims to humble roads that over decades became publicly shared will become sticking points. Developers can expect to end up in court against neighbors unless they establish iron-clad terms of traffic accessways before groundbreaking even occurs.

Wo Fat makes a comeback

Honolulu’s Chinatown has so much color — and there’s no finer example of that than the Wo Fat Chop Sui building on the corner of Maunakea and North Hotel streets.

That’s why it’s exciting to hear that the iconic but worn building is poised for revitalization, under a proposal by June Jones, former University of Hawaii football coach, and investment partners in Austin, Texas. Restoration of the ornate three-story building, pending permit approvals, would start in April with completion by the end of January 2020. Envisioned for the ground floor are a restaurant, bar and coffee bar, while the upper floors would be converted into a dozen hotel rooms, or dorms. A boutique hotel would indeed be a suitable asset for the area, with the ground-floor eateries in sync with Chinatown’s increasingly lively vibe and economy.

The $10 million project would be privately funded — though, interestingly, its environmental assessment report (see 808ne.ws/2BfNR65) does mention possible partial grant assistance from the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation.

Built in 1938, Wo Fat Chop Sui for decades was the site for many milestone gatherings for the local Chinese community and other kamaaina families. Today, there’s a retail market on the street level, but the top two floors have been vacant for the last decade.

Honolulu’s Chinatown was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district in 1973. Done right, it’d be good to see historic Wo Fat get the new life it deserves.