Question: A Star-Advertiser article on the lack of spaces at Ala Moana for the Fourth of July Fireworks show made me wonder how many spaces Ala Moana Center and Ward Centers have lost during their recent redevelopment. Doesn’t each shopping center have an agreement with the city to provide a set number of parking spaces for shoppers and employees?

Answer: Despite ongoing construction, both Ala Moana Center and Ward Centers have more than the required number of parking spaces, according to city and state officials.

The Ward complex is in Kakaako and under state jurisdiction through the Hawaii Community Development Authority. The city has no control over parking requirements there, said Curtis Lum, spokesman for the city Department of Planning and Permitting.

For areas under city jurisdiction, Lum said the number of required parking stalls in a shopping center is determined by the Land Use Ordinance.

"Generally, the owners must provide one stall for every 300 square feet of floor area in the center," he said. "Ala Moana Center is in compliance with the city’s parking requirements and provides more than is required."

He noted that the demolition of the Sears building resulted in a temporary reduction in floor space, which also reduced the number of required parking stalls.

Lum said the Land Use Ordinance does not differentiate between employee and customer parking.

Ala Moana Center spokesman Scott Creel said there currently are 8,000 parking spaces, compared with 10,000 that were available before Sears closed. At the end of construction in November 2015, 3,000 spaces will be added for a total of 11,000 stalls.

At Ward Centers, the only construction currently eliminating parking is the Waiea condominium project bounded by Ala Moana Boulevard and Kamakee and Auahi streets.

The parking lot there, which had about 200 stalls, "was entirely surplus parking to begin with, so the Ward Centers remain in compliance even though those parking spaces are now lost," said HCDA spokeswoman Lindsey Doi. Ward Centers previously had advertised there were still about 4,000 parking stalls for shoppers, "which is well within HCDA guidelines."

Off-street parking requirements for most of Ward Centers can be found in Section 15-22-67 of HCDA’s 2005 Mauka Area Rules — 1.usa.gov/1xqJqY2.

Doi said the requirements for Ward Centers would include commercial usage, which requires one parking stall per 444 square feet of floor area, as well as 0.9 stall per 300 square feet of eating and drinking area, plus 0.9 per 25 square feet of dance floor area, plus 1 per 444 square feet of kitchen or accessory area.

During construction, parking requirements must still be met, she said. However, if construction is minimal, such as repaving a parking lot or repainting stalls, the loss of spaces would be acceptable "for a short duration or reasonable amount of time."

Kakaako Parking

HCDA also has off-street parking requirements for all new developments in Kakaako, Doi said, with the number of required stalls dependent on the type of development — residential, commercial, eating/drinking, school, etc.

The requirements also differ depending on which rules the development falls under, either the 2005 Mauka Area Rules or 2011 Mauka Area Rules (1.usa.gov/1rYRtuG), she said.

Howard Hughes Corp., the developer of the Waiea condo, as well as Kamehameha Schools, fall under the 2005 rules, so those are the requirements that apply at Ward Centers, Doi said.

However, she pointed out that all developments prior to HCDA’s creation in 1976 are grandfathered in, so the agency cannot impose rules on those developments unless they change uses (such as being renovated into a new development).

One building grandfathered in is the Ward Warehouse building, built in the 1970s.

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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.