A contentious plan to raise the Waikiki height limit for a second hotel-condominium tower on Kuhio Avenue to 350 feet cleared the City Council Zoning Committee on Thursday, but with a requirement that the developer increase the space between the buildings and add open space and other amenities.
Council Zoning Chairman Ikaika Anderson said he wanted to "ensure that these concessions that were offered are in writing" before allowing Resolution 14-38 to advance to the full Council for a final vote Wednesday.
The amendment calls for a minimum distance of 75 feet between the two high-rises, up from the original 50 feet. It also calls on the developer to provide additional open space and landscaping as well as traffic, pedestrian and sewer line improvements.
Anderson said he would have preferred more concessions, such as a cash contribution for community benefits, but was advised by city attorneys they would not be legal.
City Planning Director George Atta said even though the resolution is for a variance that technically addresses only the building’s height and its impact on view planes, his department "would honor" the other language.
Officials with PACREP2 LLC, the developer, have argued that a taller, sleeker profile would aid rather than hinder view planes, and said they would not object to the inclusion of the concessions in writing.
Zoning allows for up to a 300-foot building without the variance being sought. But assuming the tower wins the variance Wednesday, the developer must still petition Atta’s Department of Planning and Permitting for a Waikiki Special District use permit before it can proceed with the project.
Area residents, the Waikiki Neighborhood Board and other opponents have voiced strong objections to the added height and incursion on view planes, as well as concerns about aesthetics, parking, traffic and other issues. They said PACREP is deceiving the public and government officials and is practicing "segmentation," or purposely splitting up the project to gain approvals separately so decision makers don’t see the whole scope of a project at once.
They also raised concerns about how the developer is dealing with Hawaiian cultural issues and the potential for flooding.
The developer won approval from the Council in January 2013 to raise the height on the first tower to 350 feet from the existing 300-foot limit. Both towers are to be operated by the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain.
Opponents of the project last week said that PACREP employees, family members, affiliated companies and others tied to the project have made contributions to the campaign coffers of Anderson, Waikiki-area Councilman Stanley Chang and Mayor Kirk Caldwell. All three denied the contributions have had any effect on their decision-making.
Mark Monoscalco of the Central Waikiki Neighborhood Association said his group appreciates the work that was done but that its core problems remain unresolved.
The buildings are "dramatically out of place, dramatically damaging to the center of Waikiki," he said. "You are building the Great Wall of Waikiki."
