OHA seeks opinions on Kakaako Makai land

The state Office of Hawaiian Affairs wants community input on how it should use the 31 acres of largely undeveloped land in Kakaako Makai it received from the state in 2012.

The agency said Thursday it will hold statewide stakeholder meetings in February and March to help shape a conceptual master plan for using and developing the property in ways that generate income and support Native Hawaiian culture.

OHA is remaining flexible on the type of uses to be considered in a master plan, after failing to convince key state lawmakers last year to allow residential development on some of its Kakaako property.

Zoning for OHA’s nine Kakaako parcels makai of Ala Moana Boulevard allows commercial — but not residential — development with height limits ranging from 45 to 200 feet.

OHA expects to include options in its master plan with and without residential use.

Garett Kamemoto, an OHA spokesman, said the agency has decided not to push for residential development at the Legislature this year. A 2006 state law banned residential use in Kakaako Makai. That law would have to be amended before OHA could build condominiums on the property.

A bill allowing residential development expired last year in the waning minutes of the legislative session after a Senate committee that supported OHA’s request for limited residential use could not get a House committee to agree on passage.

Though OHA is not asking the Legislature this year to reconsider, it might do so in upcoming years.

The agency doesn’t expect it will be ready to develop its Kakaako land until 2018, following production of a master plan expected to be finished next year, an environmental impact statement in 2016 and permitting in 2017.

Earlier this month the agency awarded a design team a $2.9 million contract to produce the conceptual master plan. The team, dubbed Kuhikuhi Pu’uone Collaborative, is made up of Edith Kanaka’ole Foundation, DTL LLC, PBR Hawaii and WCIT Architecture. The contract requires collecting input from the Hawaiian community.

Robert Iopa, president of WCIT Architecture and a principal of DTL, said in a statement that OHA has unique opportunities for its land adjacent to the mauka portion of Kakaako where high-rise condominium and retail development is booming.

"We’re excited to begin engaging the community and encourage their input to help OHA create a place that will benefit all," he said.

Pualani Kanahele, head of the Edith Kanaka’ole Foundation, said in a statement that OHA’s development framework stresses a cultural kipuka, or oasis. "This will be a key driving force for our work and can be a model for enriching culture as development is contemplated throughout Hawaii."

OHA also has a goal to generate income that benefits its programs for Hawaiians. The agency accepted the land valued at $200 million in a negotiated settlement with the administration of former Gov. Neil Abercrombie that satisfied disputed ceded-land revenue claims dating back three decades.

However, after commissioning a land value analysis and market study in 2013, OHA said potential income from commercial development was beneath what should be expected from land worth $200 million.