Project fast-tracking spurs fits and starts, more fits

Legislative rhetoric always runs to the extreme, so in this election year almost every bill is either walking us off a cliff or preventing Armageddon.

At issue is development in Hawaii and what we will do about it.

Hawaii’s reputation as paradise to look at, but hell to build in, has finally been heard by legislative leaders, now worrying that blocking development means losing jobs and tax income.

"Do you want the state of Hawaii to declare bankruptcy, or do you want a place where our young people can live and find employment?" asks Hawaii island Democrat Malama Solomon.

She and others are supporting a variety of bills to exempt public works projects from most environmental and land use laws.

It is as if suddenly Honolulu wishes to be Hong Kong, with building regulations tossed out the window.

Another bill aiming to spur on development along the city’s proposed heavy rail project would exempt developers from zoning, impact fees and parking standards. County and state projects would be exempt from environmental impact standards and would "fast-track commercial and residential development."

The imagined torrid pace of development has set environmentalists’ hair on fire.

Donna Wong, executive director of Hawaii’s Thousands Friends, sees the push for jobs as a chance to fire up the bulldozers.

"Nobody is thinking about land planning; nobody is thinking about the environment," Wong says. "It is jobs, jobs, jobs."

"Listen, it can’t be jobs versus the environment. We live on an island; we have regulations for everybody; our resources are finite," Wong said.

Lawmakers basically respond by saying, "Yes, but … "

Yes, but the counties need money. Yes, but the University of Hawaii is asking for more money. Yes, but the schools need repairs now.

Another veteran Democrat, state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, says legislators are fed up with solutions that haven’t worked.

"We tried streamlining the permit projects, we tried the one-stop permit centers, but everyone tells us there is still too much permits to go through," Kim said.

Solomon, a former legislator, rancher and educator, said the big worry is not balancing the immediate budget, it is the more than $5 billion the state faces to fund state pensions.

"The cost is going up and there is no end in sight," said Solomon.

Bob Loy, interim CEO of The Outdoor Circle, acknowledged that some of the bills are aimed at speeding along much-needed repair and maintenance projects and "that is not a bad thing."

Along with fixing roofs and paving parking lots, there are also bills to exempt the state and county from following the rules regarding health, safety and environmental regulations — and that worries environmentalists.

"They appear to be fast-tracking these projects and we think it is extremely short-sighted and affecting the quality of life and tourism; bad things could happen," Loy warned.

"If the county codes are suspended, people will come to perceive Hawaii as a Third World nation that doesn’t follow accepted building practices," Loy said.

There should be another worry for both the job-hunting legislators and nervous environmentalists: Can the state really perform even if the rules and regs are dropped?

For instance, the state Department of Transportation has managed to stop funding a much-needed cargo storage facility in Hilo, even after the project started, was funded and had a contractor ready with the shovels.

Hawaii island’s Tribune-Herald reported last week that the 60,000-square-foot, steel-framed cargo building was intended to bring cargo operations closer to the Hilo airport’s main terminal.

It started in 2009, with typical Gov. Linda Lingle ruffles and flourishes. The paper reported that Isemoto Contracting Co. had a two-part project and it was to be completed within two years of the groundbreaking.

Now, it has completed the 50,000-foot concrete apron and taxiway for the heavy cargo planes, but no building. Federal money built the first part, but now the state can’t come up with its share.

"The cargo building construction is still pending the availability of funding," Daniel Meisenzahl, DOT spokesman, told the Hilo newspaper.

"Some time after construction started on the ramp and hard stand, it was determined that the Airports Division did not have the funding," he said.

It appears that for the state of Hawaii, when you are already off the track, you won’t be doing much fast-tracking.

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Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.