Panel’s OK preps Ho’opili bill for final vote

Ho‘opili, the largest housing project to go before the Hono­lulu City Council in at least two decades, is one vote away from going to the mayor’s office for consideration.

The 11,750-home Ho‘o­pili project received a 5-0 nod from the Council Zoning and Planning Committee on Thursday, setting up a final vote Wednesday before the full Council.

Bill 3 seeks to rezone 1,554 acres of existing agricultural lands for a large-scale master-planned community between Maka­kilo, Kapo­lei, Ewa, Wai­pahu and Kunia.

As at previous meetings, there was passionate testimony by those for and against the project. Supporters of the contentious project say it will help fill an urgent demand for housing on Oahu and bring needed jobs to West Oahu. But opponents say the project takes away invaluable farmland and would worsen an already nightmarish commute for the region’s motorists.

Council Zoning Chairman Ikaika Anderson pushed through provisos to the bill designed to make more affordable homes available to families, including a requirement that Horton-Schuler set aside a share of its homes as affordable rental units.

Oahu developers in recent years generally have been required by the city to set aside 30 percent of each project as "affordable housing," broadly defined as homes priced to be within reach of families and individuals who make 140 percent of the island’s median income or less. The 2014 guideline says the median income for an Oahu family of four is $82,400.

Under the measure that the committee passed Thursday, the developer must market the roughly 3,525 affordable units only to those making 120 percent of median or less. Additionally, 10 percent of the 11,750 units, or about 1,175 homes, must be marketed for those making 80 percent of median or less, Anderson said. And of the homes marketed to those making 80 percent or less, 20 percent — about 235 units — must be rentals, he said.

In exchange for the concession, the developer sought and received language that requires it to market the homes at the affordable categories for only 120 days. Horton-Schuler officials said they don’t mind setting aside affordable homes but want to be able to move them quickly if there are not enough qualified buyers in the lower income categories.

The committee did not embrace two other novel, suggested changes to the complex development plan. Kioni Dudley, president of longtime Ho‘o­pili opposition group Friends of Maka­kilo, suggested that Ho‘o­pili be given rezoning to allow for commercial development on 38 acres that Horton-Schuler can sell to recoup its original purchase price. The Friends group would then be given three years to find the funding to purchase the remaining acreage at agriculture-zoned prices.

The nonprofit Blue Planet Foundation voiced neither support nor opposition to the bill, but urged the Council to consider requiring the developer to establish a comprehensive transportation master plan. Shem Lawlor, Blue Planet’s clean transportation director, said the plan should force Horton-Schuler to "include a benchmark of more than 60 percent of all trips to, from and within Ho‘o­pili be made by foot, bicycle or public transportation." The city would have the authority to suspend or withhold permits from the developer if the target is not met, he said.

The project sits along the city’s impending rail transit line.

Horton-Schuler has promised tens of millions of dollars in traffic improvements, including footing the bill for additional lanes in each direction of the H-1 freeway. Area City Councilman Ron Menor, who supports the project, said even with those improvements, "I’m not entirely satisfied. … I know that many of my constituents are not going to be pleased or entirely happy with the traffic remediation conditions."