Hearing will focus on Skyline project

Plans for a contentious condominium project on the makai slopes of Punchbowl crater will be subject to a public hearing Wednesday morning.

Prospect Properties LLC wants approval from city Planning Director George Atta for Skyline Honolulu, a 110-unit development on 1.6 acres along the mauka side of Prospect Street near the top of Ward Avenue.

Zoning for the property allows for the project’s development, and no height, density or other variances are being sought, said project planner Tom Schnell of PBR Hawaii. A special district permit is needed for the project, however, because it is within the Punchbowl Special Design District.

But area neighbors say the project is too big, will make traffic worse and is out of character with the low-rise nature of the area.

There are currently 12 homes sitting on the 12 connected properties that would make up the project site. The project calls for 11 of the houses to be cleared, leaving the 12th building, a duplex.

Heading the opposition are Frank and Cynthia Robben, who own and live in the house next to the project.

Frank Robben said even if the developers are not seeking anything out of the ordinary, they should be more sensitive to the special nature of the area.

“The Punchbowl area should look nice and be a little less dense,” Robben said.

More recent developers in the area have redeveloped by building nicer single-family homes and townhouses, he said. The project, as proposed, is “massive by comparison.”

While Skyline Honolulu will have the required number of parking stalls for its 110 units, “people tend to have more cars, and street parking is very tight here,” Robben said. The plan calls for 150 resident stalls and 11 guest spaces.

Schnell, the project planner, disagreed with the notion that Skyline Honolulu would be out of character with the rest of the neighborhood. He noted that several high-rises are in the project’s vicinity, including a 16-story condominium directly across Prospect Street, and two others of 15 and eight stories are on the same side as Skyline Honolulu.

The Punchbowl Special District was designed to ensure views from and to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific are not disturbed, and the project follows that guideline, Schnell said. To even see the new building from Punchbowl, one would have to look down, he said.

To address traffic, the developers agreed to widen the right-of-way of Prospect Street, he said. Specifically, sidewalks will be wider and include landscaping. Roadway changes will improve the sight distance along a blind curve at Prospect Street, he said. Traffic will also be improved, he said, because instead of the six driveways that are now used to access the property, there would be two entry points.

In 2007 the developers received a special use permit to put up a 90-unit project. But a bad economy stopped the project, and the permit expired in 2010.

Wednesday’s 10 a.m. meeting by the Department of Planning and Permitting will be held in the Mission Memorial Building Conference Room at 550 S. King St., on the Diamond Head side of Honolulu Hale.

Written testimony can also be faxed to 768-6743 or mailed to 650 S. King St., 7th Floor, Honolulu 96813. Go to www.honoluludpp.org for other details.