Ho’opili gets green light

The landscape-altering Ho‘opili development project won a 9-0 final approval from the Honolulu City Council on Wednesday, paving the way for up to 11,750 new homes on the Ewa Plain over the next few decades.

Bill 3, which rezones 1,554 acres of what’s been described as prime agricultural land, is the largest project to be considered by the Council in at least two decades. Developer D.R. Horton-Schuler Homes said the first homes will likely start in late 2016 or early 2017.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell said after the vote that he’s inclined to sign the bill.

The contentious project, which sits between Kapolei, Ewa, Waipahu and Kunia, has had detractors since it was first unveiled publicly more than a decade ago. Most of the criticism centers around the loss of actively cultivated agricultural lands and the possibility that the increased density will worsen an already troublesome traffic situation in West Oahu.

Those objections have been countered by supporters who point to the urgent need for new housing on Oahu and construction jobs the Horton-Schuler project would bring.

Despite the unanimous vote, several Council members voiced concerns, largely dealing with the traffic issue.

Councilman Ron Menor, who represents the area where Ho‘opili will be built, grilled both Horton-Schuler and city planning officials about whether enough has been done to address the traffic situation. "We need to have specific traffic mitigation measures before people start moving into the community and more cars are scheduled to come onto the freeway," he said.

Cameron Nekota, Horton-Schuler vice president, said the developer will likely end up contributing hundred of millions of dollars in traffic mitigation measures.

Among those improvements will be additional lanes of the H-1 freeway in both directions along the congested corridor between the Kunia and Waiawa interchanges. This was required when the state Land Use Commission approved the project.

Menor questioned why the developer could not agree to his proposal to place a strict deadline on when various traffic improvements need to be completed.

Nekota said many of the improvements cannot be pinned down to a more definitive timeline because their construction is dependent on the timelines and actions of state and city transportation departments, other government agencies and other area landowners.

He noted that Horton-Schuler needs to add the additional H-1 lanes before it can complete its 5,000th residence, a deadline that could change as government agencies see fit. Under another LUC condition, the developer must also submit a revised traffic impact analysis report by the time it completes its 2,500th unit, in about six to eight years, he said.

George Atta, city director of planning and permitting, said his agency will work with the city and state transportation agencies and Horton-Schuler on a comprehensive traffic management plan before the developer can obtain subdivision permits from the city.

"This is before even construction of houses can begin," Atta said.

"We all know that the existing traffic conditions in this area are … intolerable already," Atta said. While Horton-Schuler is expected to contribute its fair share, he said, "I don’t think we can expect them to do the whole solution. The impacts and solutions are much bigger than that."

Council members, before the vote, said the need for additional homes and the developer’s agreeable nature were key to their support for Ho‘opili.

Area Councilwoman Kymberly Pine said she opposed the project 10 years ago but slowly began to appreciate the responsiveness of Horton-Schuler and its willingness to listen to the concerns of the community. "If other developers did what they’re doing today (in terms of improvements), we would not have traffic the way we have on the freeway today," she said.

The project’s "live work play" concept and its emphasis on using alternate forms of transportation should minimize the traffic impacts, Pine said. "We have to stop thinking about going to town … and that is what this development has done," shesaid.

Council Zoning and Planning Chairman Ikaika Anderson reiterated that the developer has agreed to provide more affordable homes than typically required — pledging to market at least 30 percent of its units to those making 120 percent of median income or less. A portion of those homes will also be rentals, he said.

Testifiers were split on the project.

Ewa Beach resident Douglas Kema Jr. said he was raised in the area and wants his children to be able to achieve the same goal: "to dream big, get a good education, find a job and buy a house."

Kapolei resident Kuhio Lewis said he’s tired of traffic gridlock that, several weeks ago, left his daughter stranded at school without anyone to pick her up. "I recognize the need for housing, but I also realize the impact that such development would have on our quality of life in Kapolei. We eat breakfast in the car, we eat dinner in the car — this is the reality of our life living out on the West Side."

Despite Wednesday’s Council action, Ho‘opili is expected to remain in the spotlight. A lawsuit by the Sierra Club and former state Sen. Clayton Hee objecting to the state Land Use Commission’s approval of the project is currently under appeal before the Hawaii Supreme Court.

Former state Sen. John Carroll, meanwhile, said he intends to file a lawsuit seeking to halt the project, citing language in state law that obligates it to keep active agricultural lands in existing farm use.