Alexander & Baldwin queries Kailua residents about town issues

Alexander & Baldwin mailed out out a survey this week to Kailua residents, asking for their feedback on the town’s future to fulfill a promise made at a neighborhood board meeting several months ago.

“We are fulfilling our commitment to engage with the Kailua community and listen to residents’ opinions and concerns,” said A&B spokesman Darren Pai in an email. “We want to hear what residents think about the issues facing Kailua Town and what they want for its future.”

The survey, conducted by Ward Research, was sent out to 16,000 residential households in Kailua on Monday, he said.

It includes 18 questions that ask the participant to rate one’s level of satisfaction with the mix of shops and restaurants, efforts to manage vehicle and bicycle traffic, and overall efforts by A&B to keep residents informed about activities in Kailua.

The survey also asks residents to rate to what extent tourism in Kailua has affected “your household’s overall quality of life” with boxes to check that range from much better to much worse. Open-ended questions ask for examples of activities or entertainment that residents would participate in and what overall types of changes or improvements residents would like to see in Kailua.

Question No. 10 specifically asks about Pali Lanes, the bowling alley once slated for redevelopment, and asks for suggestions for what should be done with it, which include three options: retain the Pali Lanes structure but repurpose the building for uses other than bowling; keep Pali Lanes and the surrounding area as is for the purpose of bowling; and replace the Pali Lanes structure and repurpose the area to allow for uses such as a green open space, social gathering area, town center, playground facility, events amphitheater or special events venue.

Residents are asked to rate the options with strongly support to strongly oppose, or check another box that says “don’t know.”

Our Kailua, the community group that launched a petition seeking to save Pali Lanes from demolition, weighed in on the survey, urging its followers on Facebook to support the second option of keeping it as a bowling alley.

While the survey is an important step, according to Our Kailua spokesman Evan Weber, it is not enough to hear the concerns of the community. Our Kailua is concerned that the survey results might not honestly portray the desires of Kailua, and thinks the question on Pali Lanes is worded poorly because it does not include an option for preserving as well as improving Pali Lanes.

The group is advocating for A&B to hold a public forum, and has launched a petition calling for one.

The survey was accompanied by a letter signed by A&B President and CEO Chris Benjamin and Sheila- Anne Ebert, manager of A&B Kailua Properties. A&B, the state’s fourth-largest private landowner, owns 90 percent of the retail buildings in Kailua.

“This letter is in your hands right now because we truly want to know what you think about Kailua town,” it said. “Several months ago, we told the Kailua Neighborhood Board, at a public meeting, that we would put our planning decisions on hold until we made every effort to learn what the people who live and work in Kailua want, need and hope for in Kailua town.”

Pai said A&B put all commercial real estate development plans in Kailua on hold in March to conduct a comprehensive community engagement effort.

“In addition to the survey, we have spent the last six months meeting with community organizations, holding listening sessions with residents, business owners and community leaders and meeting face-to-face with members of the community,” he said in an email. “We’ve also had in-depth discussions with acknowledged community thought-leaders, long-time residents and individuals committed to a constructive dialogue on Kailua’s opportunities. We look forward to seeing the results of the survey and continuing to engage with the community.”

The survey results will be publicly shared upon completion, A&B said, and used as a guideline for commercial property plans in Kailua now and in the years ahead.

Those who complete the survey — which can be completed by mail in a postage-paid envelope or online — by Oct. 1 are eligible to win one of three iPads in a drawing to be held the following week. Residents can call Ward Research at 585-2309 or email wrsurvey@wardresearch.com if they have not received one or have trouble accessing the online survey.