Encouraged by Gov. Neil Abercrombie, Kakaako is being planned for ambitious development that includes transfer of waterfront acreage to the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs and building of inland residential skyscrapers.

Such development makes sense in the urban core, as long as it is carefully planned following accepted rules. There should be little patience for developers seeking variances to maximize their profits. And robust community involvement is badly needed at all stages to ensure that the area’s best interests are protected.

Abercrombie said in an interview with the Star-Advertiser’s Derrick DePledge that embracing urban density could prevent sprawl, and the question is "not only how should we live in a 21st century context" in an area where he once dismissed high-rises as "kennels for the rich."

He now hopes for luxury condominiums along with a mix of less expensive housing near rail transit, commercial development and small businesses, and shoreline access.

The state has agreed to a $200 million land settlement with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs by offering OHA land near Waterfront Park, including Fisherman’s Wharf. The land would continue to remain under subject to the Hawaii Community Development Authority’s zoning and land conditions.

Proposals for new high-rises in Kakaako have not been without controversy.

HCDA raised eyebrows in October when it requested proposals for a 650-foot tower for condominiums named 690 Pohukaina, surpassing the island’s 400-foot height restriction.

And the developer of the new "Symphony" tower sought an exemption from an eminently sensible rule requiring the towers to be oriented to preserve mauka-to-makai views. San Diego-based developer OliverMcMillan is asking permission to make the long side of the 400-foot tower parallel to Kapiolani Boulevard, thus providing ocean views from the units. An HCDA hearing and vote on the requested variance scheduled for March 7 was postponed after the proposal was publicized. The idea should be rejected.

Neighbors of proposed development sometimes will "wait until the bulldozers begin to remove rubble before they complain," Abercrombie said. "But everyone believes you need to develop more in Kakaako. There’s too many empty lots. The big argument is going to be: What’s it going to look like?"

That is the right question to ask. The HCDA should actively solicit comments and make it easy for the public to learn the details of projects long before the bulldozers start up.

OliverMcMillan’s request that this month’s hearing be rescheduled hopefully means that such a message is reverberating in the right places.