The state House is expected to vote Monday to give final approval to a bill that would weaken the governor’s power to shape the Hawaii Community Development Authority and also freeze building height limits and expand public- notice requirements on Kakaako development projects.
The bill is a reaction to public concerns about the pace of growth in Kakaako, where new high-rise condominiums, retail development and the rail project could help reshape Honolulu’s urban core over the next decade.
Some lawmakers wanted an aggressive response that would have handcuffed or even abolished the HCDA, which was created in 1976 to oversee the redevelopment of Kakaako, but negotiations between lawmakers, the HCDA, developers, community activists and Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s office produced a more calculated bill.
The House agreed Friday to accept the Senate’s changes to House Bill 1866 and scheduled a final vote for Monday.
"It will result in an improved decision-making process at HCDA. It will also result in a board composition that is more representative of the larger community," said House Majority Leader Scott Saiki (D, Downtown-Kakaako-McCully), who sponsored the bill.
Senate Majority Leader Brickwood Galuteria (D, Kakaako-McCully-Waikiki), who was part of the negotiations on the bill, said lawmakers "took everybody’s views into consideration. I think we addressed many of the concerns from the community — from all parties, from all stakeholders."
If approved Monday, the bill would go to Abercrombie, who would have 10 days to decide whether to sign, veto or allow the bill to become law without his signature, the timetable for bills passed before the final days of session. An Abercrombie spokesman would not say Friday whether the governor would sign the bill into law.
The legislation would weaken the governor’s power to shape the nine-member HCDA board, which now includes four of the governor’s Cabinet members and the governor’s choice of a cultural specialist and at-large pick.
Under the bill, the governor would have sole discretion to name four board members — two Cabinet members, the cultural specialist and the at-large pick — down from six. The Senate president and the House speaker would recommend nominees to the governor for two seats on the board, giving the Legislature a stake.
The Honolulu planning director would also serve as a nonvoting board member.
A 418-foot height limit for Kakaako buildings would be written into state law. Abercrombie and some developers have wanted the flexibility to exceed the existing 400-foot height limit with towers that could reach up to a state record 650 feet.
Public notices of applications for significant development projects would have to be sent to all property owners and lessees within 300 feet of the projects. The notices would detail project specifications, any requests for exemptions, and the procedures for residents to intervene in or contest the projects.
Separate public hearings would be required when developers want a variance, exemption or modification to a community development plan or the HCDA’s rules.
The bill would also give residents 20 days from a public notice on a hearing for a development proposal to intervene.
Saiki and Galuteria had a gentleman’s agreement not to use the bill as leverage on a separate, more contentious bill that would give the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs residential development rights in Kakaako makai.
Galuteria lashed out at Saiki on Thursday after Saiki implied that the OHA bill might not survive conference committee negotiations.
Some in the Senate wanted to reconsider the Kakaako bill over concerns that board members who represent Heeia and Kalaeloa — regions that also fall under the HCDA — might not agree with the changes to the board’s composition.
Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz (D, Wheeler-Wahiawa-Schofield) questioned whether there were adequate public hearings on the board changes. He said some in Heeia and Kalaeloa might prefer to serve with and have access to the governor’s Cabinet members than board members screened by the Senate and House.
"A lot of the different communities found out after the fact," he said.
But the Senate already sent the bill to the House on Tuesday — and removed a defective date, so the bill could take effect in July — so the House is free to take final action.
