City seeks public input on Oahu General Plan

City officials are seeking input on a new draft of the Oahu General Plan as part of a public review process that began several years ago.

The Department of Planning and Permitting will hold a meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at McKinley High School’s Hirata Hall, located on the mauka side of the parking lot, 1039 S. King St. The department and consultant HHF Planners will present the draft plan and gather feedback.

The draft plan includes changes such as objectives that address impacts of sea-level rise and climate change, new city policies for an aging population, adjustments to Oahu’s population geography and a plan for multimodal communities that reduce travel and traffic congestion, according to the DPP.

Residents can submit comments on the draft plan through May 7. The department plans to review comments, prepare a revised plan and submit it to the Honolulu Planning Commission in the fall. The commission would then make a recommendation to the City Council, which will further review the plan.

“It’s really hard to get the working person into a meeting about long-range planning. But it’s really important to get that direction,” said Kathy Sokugawa, DPP’s acting director. “This (General Plan) is where the city decides the overall growth pattern for the long term for the whole island. There’s a lot of policies … that again start to frame how the future goes.”

The DPP released the first public review draft of the General Plan in 2012 and held community meetings to gather input. The current draft plan incorporates hundreds of comments from that period, including from neighborhood boards, public and private organizations, and government agencies.

The General Plan has been amended several times since it was adopted in 1977 and is a comprehensive statement of objectives and policies that guide long-range desires, planning and strategies on Oahu. The plan seeks to address physical, social, economic and environmental concerns affecting Oahu residents, while providing for future growth on the island.

The plan also serves as a guide for all levels of government, as well as businesses, neighborhoods, citizen groups and other organizations in addressing population growth, economic activity, the environment, housing, transportation, public safety, education, culture and recreation, and fiscal management.

For more information and to view the draft plan, visit honoluludpp.org/Planning/GeneralPlan.