View new Ewa resort plan warily

Should Hoakalei Resort in Ewa get the go-ahead from government? The answer depends on which version of the development proposal is meant.

Plans by the developer, Haseko (Hawaii) Inc., keep shifting, which strongly suggests that city and state officials need to adopt a cautious approach in their reviews of the new environmental impact statement the developer is preparing. They must take particular care to see that the public’s interest, especially concerning shoreline access, is well protected.

Haseko’s original plan for the centerpiece fronting its Ewa subdivisions, a blueprint begun three decades ago, was the development of a marina, surrounded by stores, restaurants and other businesses supporting the boating activity, as well as 1,400 boat slips.

That’s what many residents who bought in the company’s Ocean Pointe and Hoakalei subdivisions expected to see. Then two years ago, Haseko announced it would change to a more modest plan for a recreational lagoon, completing the basin already excavated on the site.

More recently, the details of the resort plan have come into focus, with a larger area now set aside for its hotel facilities. Haseko needs a new zoning change to accommodate the revisions, including the increase in the resort-zoned area from 38 to 46 acres. It also would split the hotel acreage into three parcels, including an 8-acre piece bordering the shoreline.

All along the winding road to development, Haseko has encountered a mixed reception to either the marina or the lagoon. Environmentalists and Native Hawaiian advocates worried that blasting the channel for the marina would damage cultural sites such as ancient burials and have an adverse effect on surfing spots and other resources.

Supporters saw the marina as an asset that would bring jobs and serve as a recreational attraction that would lure big events and enhance property values. They are disappointed with the substitution of a lagoon, envisioning various drainage and other maintenance challenges.

Haseko’s official explanation for the switch has been that demand for the slips would not support the marina, though people on the waiting list for slips at Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor would find that puzzling. The more potent deterrence, surely, was the other cited reason: anticipation that the excavation of the channel would lead to greater expense, including legal challenges.

Further, executives said, the less intensive water sports that a lagoon would support, as well as the planned park around it, would provide open space and a recreational resource that would suit more people.

They may have a point there — as long as the public finds it easy enough to tap such a resource.

However, that’s precisely the question: Will public shoreline access be provided in the project, or will it be made more difficult? Haseko, which now seems to be creating a mini Ko Olina in Ewa, hasn’t yet given public considerations enough weight.

For example, Haseko has proposed charging the public to park in a 200-stall lot, which it evidently intends as a revenue driver. In a recent community newsletter, the company said parking fees could raise more than $500,000 a year. That money, along with fees assessed by the community associations, would go toward lagoon maintenance.

Free public parking, according to Haseko’s statement, would still be available at White Plains Beach or Oneula Beach Park, which is roughly a quarter-mile away from either corner of the lagoon. Altogether, the proposal doesn’t bear much resemblance to a welcome mat set out for the public.

The Hoakalei and Ocean Pointe subdivisions took the place of former farmlands, a resource that has become precious. It’s the job of officials weighing the new plan to see that the community won’t sacrifice enjoyment of the shoreline, as well.