Two developers of proposed Kakaako condominium towers will have their project permit applications decided sooner than previously scheduled to avoid potential delays with a new governor taking office Dec. 1.
The Hawaii Community Development Authority announced Monday that hearing dates have been moved up for two towers slated to replace part of Ward Warehouse owned by Howard Hughes Corp. and a tower dubbed Vida on land owned by Kamehameha Schools containing Cutter automobile dealerships.
Hughes Corp. already participated in two informational HCDA hearings for its project on Oct. 1 and 2. A third hearing on Dec. 3 was scheduled for HCDA’s board to decide on the permit. Now that decision-making hearing will be Nov. 25 at 9 a.m.
The Vida tower permit was scheduled for hearings on Nov. 12 and Dec. 17. HCDA bumped up the later hearing date to Nov. 25 at noon.
Hughes Corp. and Vida tower developer MK Vida LLC requested the changes. Attorneys for the developers said in their written requests that there likely would not be enough HCDA board members to hold the hearings as previously scheduled.
That’s because four board members will lose their seats Dec. 1 when Hawaii’s next governor takes office. The four members represent half the board, which has one vacancy. Five members are needed to hold a meeting.
The hearing date changes, which were approved by HCDA board Chairman Brian Lee, will allow the two developers to have their applications decided by the same board members who heard testimony from expert witnesses and the public at initial hearings.
The changes also mean that the fate of the two projects won’t be decided by Cabinet members of the new governor.
Anthony Ching, the HCDA’s executive director, said in his view it is possible that one or both projects would have had decision-making hearings delayed to allow a new governor to name Cabinet members who serve on, or designate representatives to serve on, the HCDA’s board.
"It’s not unrealistic," he said.
Attorneys for the developers also noted that their projects would automatically be approved in early January — Jan. 5 for Vida and Jan. 19 for the Hughes Corp. towers — under HCDA rules if no decision is made by then.
The HCDA’s board for Kakaako has nine seats, four of which are held by the directors (or designated subordinates) of the state Department of Budget and Finance, the Department of Accounting and General Services, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
Those four members will be removed from the board Dec. 1 and will be replaced after the next governor appoints directors to those departments.
Another even bigger board shake-up faces the HCDA early next year.
Terms for seven of the HCDA’s nine board positions will end at the end of February in conformance with a bill passed by the Legislature earlier this year that reduces the governor’s ability to shape the HCDA’s board.
Previously, the governor had sole discretion picking six of nine members — the four Cabinet representatives, an at-large representative and a cultural specialist representative. Three others were selected by the governor from a list or lists of candidates recommended by the City Council. All the members except for the Cabinet representatives are subject to confirmation by the state Senate.
The new selection procedure starting next year was imposed by the Legislature and signed by Abercrombie in April. It gives the governor sole discretion to pick only four members: two Cabinet members, the at-large pick and the cultural representative.
The two former Cabinet seats will be selected by the governor from candidate lists submitted by the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House.
A nonvoting 10th member also will be added. That member will be the director of the city Department of Planning and Permitting. The reconstituted board will become effective March 1.
CORRECTION: The HCDA is a state agency.
