Koa Ridge, a proposed new community in Central Oahu, got a step closer to development when the city Planning Commission Wednesday endorsed a zoning change for the project.

The commission voted 5-0 to pass the zoning change application to the City Council after more than two hours of presentations and testimony from the city Department of Planning and Permitting, Koa Ridge developer Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii and the public.

Castle & Cooke is seeking to change the zoning for 576 acres between Mililani and Waipio from agriculture to a mix of urban zoning to allow the project’s initial phase of 3,500 houses, a new Wahiawa Hospital Association medical facility, a commercial center, an elementary school, parks and possibly a hotel.

The commission’s decision follows a June 2012 state Land Use Commission approval to reclassify the land from agricultural to urban use after contentious hearings that included expert testimony presented by the developer and project opponents.

Wednesday’s Planning Commission hearing drew a similar mix of public comments from project supporters — including a large contingent from the construction industry concerned about jobs — and opponents, who were most concerned about traffic problems and the loss of prime farmland.

Thirteen people testified in favor of Koa Ridge, including Ashley Ferreira, who is heading off to college and wants Koa Ridge to be an option for housing when she returns. "Let this project move forward," she said.

Cielia Morsi, a Sierra Club of Hawaii representative who was one of eight people who testified against Koa Ridge, said the project will be bad for Oahu. "It is a traditional urban sprawl project," she said.

Castle & Cooke has committed to offset the displacement of farming by leasing 335 acres near Wahiawa to Aloun Farms, which grows crops on the Koa Ridge site. Aloun also has an option to lease an additional 333 acres of replacement land.

The developer also has committed to implement traffic mitigation measures at an estimated cost of $100 million. One piece of mitigation, the construction of a new H-2 freeway interchange at Pineapple Road, is required to be completed before occupancy of 1,800 homes or 328,000 square feet of commercial space.

The Department of Planning and Permitting supports Koa Ridge largely because the land is within the city’s urban growth boundary. A zoning change would be consistent with the city’s General Plan and the Central Oahu Sustainable Communities Plan, a department official said.

Castle & Cooke anticipates that the City Council will take up its zoning change application next month. If the Council approves the change, construction could start next year and the first homes could be finished in mid-2015, the developer estimated.

A second phase of Koa Ridge, referred to as Castle & Cooke Waiawa with 1,500 homes and an elementary school on 192 acres nearby, will need a separate zoning change if the developer satisfies certain conditions related to access and infrastructure imposed by the Land Use Commission.

Full buildout of the estimated $2.2 billion project is projected to take more than a decade.