The design of a pair of luxury apartment buildings planned for one of the last large sites approved for residential development in Hawaii Kai is rankling members of the area neighborhood board, though it appears the 10-story towers have all necessary approvals to rise.

The issue over the project called 7000 Hawaii Kai came up at two recent Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board meetings and is slated to be the subject of a motion at the board’s next meeting to rescind prior support of an initial but different version of the project on the same site.

None of the board actions is expected to alter the $165 million project being developed by local firm Avalon Group for a South Korean landowner. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Oct. 17.

Yet the dust-up over the design offers an instructive lesson about how a specific project plan can be used to obtain a zoning change benefiting a developer while what is eventually built can look very different.

Robert Clark, a Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board member for two decades, said he has seen other instances of developers receiving board support for a project that later undergoes changes that don’t sit well with those who gave it their blessing.

Clark said discussing 7000 Hawaii Kai now 10 years after the board endorsed a prior version of the plan called Hale Ali’i on the same site is meaningless, though he would like to see city rules changed so that neighborhood boards can provide input that influences whether a project proceeds if significant changes are made.

"The horse has bolted out of this barn," he said Tuesday at the board’s last meeting. "It’s gone. It’s long gone."

However, board Chairman Greg Knudsen said the board should act on the principle that its support was given for a project that doesn’t resemble what is being built. In 2004, Knudsen and Clark endorsed Hale Ali’i as part of a 9-1 vote.

"Frankly I’m ashamed I had a role in that approval process given what we have now," he said. "I believe we have been taken advantage of."

The issue Knudsen has with 7000 Hawaii Kai is the boxy look of the towers compared with what he described as a "pretty spectacular" earlier version that rose in height as it backed away from the street.

Local developer Mike Klein proposed Hale Ali’i as a luxury condominium complex on the 3.8-acre site and an adjacent 5 acres that later got acquired by a community group for preservation.

Klein came to the board seeking an endorsement for his plan but wanted an increase in the height limit that would allow him to reduce how much building mass would press up against the street front.

Klein presented plans for one U-shaped building that started at two stories near the street and gradually rose to 90 feet as it moved back. A second 90-foot building also was planned on the back of the site.

At the time, the site’s height limit was 40 feet nearest the street and 60 feet farther back.

"It was very controversial," Knudsen said of the height increase.

Klein obtained the board’s support for his plan, which was a helpful endorsement to have in seeking the height increase through a zoning change from the City Council.

The board voted to support Hale Ali’i on the basis that the buildings would be stepped down as they approached the street front.

The city and Klein negotiated a unilateral agreement that attached the requirement to the land.

Under the agreement, roof heights along Hawaii Kai Drive can be no more than two stories, or about 20 feet, then increase in height at least four times to a final height of 90 feet at a point about 120 feet inland.

Klein was ousted from the project in 2010 by a majority investor, South Korean-based Hanwha Engineering & Construction, after he ran into difficulties that included unpermitted site preparation work and community conflict.

Hanwha worked with another development manager, which proposed a revised condo complex with a stepped-up design in 2011 and proceeded with sales and a groundbreaking ceremony. But financing fell through, and plans were scrapped later that year.

Last year Hanwha retained Avalon to rework the plan, which was converted into 269 rental apartments, including 54 reserved for low-income households.

After a presentation to the neighborhood board in September, Knudsen said the design for 7000 Hawaii Kai two uniform 10-story buildings doesn’t fulfill the height stepping provision of the agreement.

Christine Camp, Avalon president and CEO, said the project meets design standards in the unilateral agreement, and received clearance from the city to proceed with construction.

"Our building is much smaller and takes up less land and is further away from the street with greater open space," she said in an email.

The city Department of Planning and Permitting concluded that the design complies because the towers are positioned farther than 120 feet from the front of the property, making the stepping requirement moot.

About 1 acre along the front of the property will be green space under Avalon’s design.

Avalon submitted its plan to the agency in January and received a response in February saying it met the unilateral agreement requirements.

"The proposed building area and massing area are significantly reduced from what was previously proposed," said the response letter signed by DPP Director George Atta. "We find that this meets the intent of (the roof stepping) condition."

Bob Stanfield, chief of DPP’s Development Plans and Zone Change Branch, added in an email, "Avalon is not asking to build anything in that area (within 120 feet of the street front), so the stepping requirement is moot."

Some members who are on the neighborhood board now but weren’t in 2004 have said the zoning change with the increased height was inappropriate for the site, but accept that it cannot be undone.

"This building is going to be built," said board member Paige Altonn.

Added Clark, "People getting up and saying they don’t like the project doesn’t really help. It’s a done deal."