Condo planned for Kahala beach not so egregious

More than a dozen Kahala residents have banded together to Keep Kahala Kahala, filing a lawsuit against a plan that would put three luxury two-story duplex homes along the neighborhood’s beachfront.

Never mind the garish, hulking mansions that dot the current Kahala beachfront. For the nonprofit Friends of Kahala, the anticipated proliferation of multifamily condominiums presents a much bigger threat.

It’s unclear, though, whether the staunch opposition to the condos will garner much sympathy from those who live beyond Kahala’s borders.

The artist’s rendering of the duplex development by landowner Alexander &Baldwin Inc. depicts a tasteful plan that blends in with the surrounding community, and a marked improvement over the shambles the property was in when billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto owned it. Plus, it would be hard to argue the development is illegal if it falls in line with current zoning restrictions — which A&B contends it does.

Residents such as Lucinda Pyles argue A&B is not looking to be a good neighbor, but instead is “looking for a return on investment.”

Pyles said she and her husband, John, have called the neighborhood home for four decades, and do not want the character of the neighborhood to change.

But the neighborhood, which once was home to pig farms in the 1800s, has been evolving since Native Hawaiians began settling in the area in the late 1700s.

Time has not stood still for Kahala, so it seems difficult for residents to make the argument that luxury low-rise condominiums would ruin the neighborhood, and aren’t just another step in Kahala’s progression.

Yet the Friends of Kahala claims in the suit that allowing A&B’s project will inspire nonresident speculators, particularly Chinese investors, to convert single-family residential properties into luxury condos in Kahala and other neighborhoods.

Further, the suit says projects like these inflate property values and have a “seriously detrimental impact” on the character of Kahala and surrounding neighborhoods.

Residents, ultimately, don’t want Kahala to resemble any other Southern California beachfront neighborhood, where duplexes are the norm rather than the exception. But waterfront condo developments already are a reality across much of Hawaii’s main islands.

Whether the Friends of Kahala can ban them from their neighborhood remains to be seen. After all, it’s not a special-design district like historic Haleiwa town.

The unique lawsuit, if nothing else, has potential to create delay.

Under A&B’s timeline, permitting could be done by 2017, allowing construction to be finished in 2019.

Still, residents hold out hope that A&B will alter its plans, although it’s doubtful the company would back away from its $40-$45 million development.

Ultimately, these Kahala residents might not have enough ammunition to make the case for keeping the condos out of Kahala. Still, it’s always good to see folks cherishing their neighborhood enough to take on the fight.