HCDA shouldn’t rush hearings

Surely, there is more integrity to the Kakaako redevelopment approvals process than hewing to developers’ timetables.

Let’s hope so — but unfortunately, that’s the questionable impression being sown with the public as the Hawaii Community Development Authority accelerates hearings and decision-making schedules for two high-impact projects in the district. The rush is on to clear crucial approvals and hurdles before Dec. 1, when four current appointees to the nine-member HCDA board leave along with outgoing Gov. Neil Abercrombie.

One project is Howard Hughes Corp.’s two-tower residential and commercial complex to replace part of Ward Warehouse: The proposal has undergone two informational HCDA hearings in early October — but a third decision-making hearing, originally set for Dec. 3, has now advanced to Nov. 25 at 9 a.m.

The other project on the fast-track is the "Vida" tower at 888 Ala Moana Blvd. The 38-story tower by Kobayashi Group and The MacNaughton Group is slated for about 265 units, ranging from $900,000 to $4.7 million. HCDA hearings initially were set for Nov. 12 and Dec. 17; the latter one will now be held at noon Nov. 25.

In both cases, the accelerated schedules were requested by the project developers, concerned about changes to the HCDA board and its ability to hold timely meetings.

Indeed, there is no doubt that major changes are coming soon to the HCDA. This past legislative session, public alarm over opaque HCDA rules, numerous project approvals, and concern for a more-open public hearings process spurred changes to the Kakaako agency and its operations:

» A reconstituted HCDA board will be effective March 2015, with seven terms ending and the addition of a 10th nonvoting member (the city’s director of Planning and Permitting).The governor’s sole appointees drop from six to four (two instead of four Cabinet members, an at-large pick and a cultural representative).

» Public notice and public hearing requirements were expanded, giving residents more ability to contest proj­ects.

» A new 418-foot height limit on buildings.

Clearly, what cannot — should not — be ignored is the public pushback to the pace of high-luxury growth in Kakaako that seems to court monied snowbirds and investors, at the expense of more-affordable housing for Hawaii’s working families. That outcry reverberated all the way up to the governor’s office, with overeager Kakaako redevelopment cited as one major issue leading to Abercrombie’s ouster in August’s primary election.

The increased urbanization of Kakaako has been the state’s vision since 1976, when legislators created HCDA to oversee the district’s redevelopment. But the pace of approvals in the last several years, and the sight of actual towers come to fruition, have unnerved many. It also hasn’t helped that the HCDA hearings process has shown itself to be insular and difficult to navigate for the general public.

So now, however appealing the Howard Hughes and Vida projects might be, their accelerated hearings cast suspicion on decision-making. Will all necessary questions be asked on the public’s behalf? Does the haste signal a mere rubberstamping of done deals, rather than the necessary robust scrutiny?

Those interested in the future growth of Kakaako will need to stay engaged, even as ground rules and timetables shift.

With Kakaako, developers and landowners are mining a valuable asset. That’s why a deliberate, transparent process allowing thorough vetting of the community benefits, not the giveaways, is in the public interest. The upcoming recalibrations of HCDA and of state housing policy under a new governor will need to cast a shrewder eye and take a firmer hand in creating communities that, first and foremost, take care of Hawaii’s own.