Opening of 2 seats could shift direction of Kakaako agency

Gov. David Ige will soon have an opportunity to tweak the makeup of a state board regulating development in Kakaako, and some community members fear that two board incumbents could be replaced by pro-development representatives.

The Hawaii Community Development Authority has two seats on its nine-member board up for refilling — a relatively small change but one that could sway the board’s direction.

The terms of Steve Scott and Jason Okuhama expire June 30.

Okuhama is a self-employed commercial mortgage broker who operates Hawaii Lending Specialists LLC.

Scott owns slipper maker Scott Hawaii, headquartered in Kakaako, and has challenged developers on issues including their plans for affordable housing and providing public park space.

It’s up to the City Council to nominate six people from which Ige will select two.

Both Scott and Okuhama are nominated for new terms for the seats that must be filled by a small-­business owner in Kakaako and a resident of the area. But they face competition from four others, including a general contractor and the owner of a commercial real estate development firm, who received more written endorsements than the two incumbents.

That worries Wayne Takamine, a resident who was involved in drafting plans for public use of state land in Kakaako and is wary of board candidates with ties to the construction industry.

“While there are other nominees who may be fine people, we have seen the work to date of the two current board members and believe they have demonstrated that they represent our best interests, and we should support their reappointment and not allow Council members who do not represent Kakaako to unseat the current board members, who have been the best representatives since their appointment in 2015,” he said in an email.

Another HCDA watchdog, Michelle Matson, said in an email that replacing the incumbents with what she called developer- and union-driven nominees would begin to turn the agency’s board back toward its “shadowy past” when the board was predominantly organized by the governor and well represented by development interests.

According to a March 9 City Council report, only three people submitted testimony supporting Scott and Okuhama. Other nominees received heavier support.

The other nominees are Jay Kadowaki, Phillip Hasha, Nani Medeiros and Jonathan L.W. Ching.

Kadowaki is the head of Kakaako-based general contracting firm J. Kadowaki Inc. and previously served on HCDA’s board. He received written support from 35 individuals or organizations, including local developer Brad Anderson, the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters, Adam Dornbush with commercial real estate advisory firm Dornbush & Co., and Andrea Galvin, a media relations employee of Kakaako developer Howard Hughes Corp.

HASHA is CEO of The Redmont Group LLC, a Kakaako-­based commercial real estate development firm. He received written support from 27 individuals or organizations, including Anderson, Dornbush and a Central Pacific Bank assistant vice president.

Medeiros is executive director of HomeAid Hawaii, a nonprofit that assists with building or renovating facilities to help the homeless. HomeAid is guided by a board of directors that includes representatives from several major Kakaako developers. She received written support from 42 individuals or organizations, including people on HomeAid’s board, the Council of Carpenters and the Building Industry Association of Hawaii.

Ching, who lives in the Kakaako high-rise condominium 801 South St., is a government relations specialist with Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and was once an assistant to Ige when he was in the state Senate. He received written support from 10 individuals or organizations, including the Oahu chapter of Young Democrats of Hawaii and the Council of Carpenters.

“As a resident of the Kakaako community, we believe Mr. Ching will bring the right kind of perspective to the board as he represents an emerging voice of young leaders in the community of Kakaako who should have a seat at the table regarding the future vision of the district,” the carpenters group said in its written testimony.

JOHN Whalen, HCDA board chairman, is advocating for Scott and Okuhama.

“Both have contributed valuable and necessary community perspectives for the board’s decision-making and have participated actively, diligently and responsibly in the board’s meetings and special task forces on policy matters, including affordable housing requirements,” he said in written testimony.

Whalen, Scott and Okuhama were part of a whole new slate of HCDA board members installed in 2015 as instructed by the Legislature, which responded to public criticism that the board was too favorable toward developers. Lawmakers also changed how HCDA board members are selected after criticism that the governor had too much power in shaping the board.

It was noted in 2014 that two HCDA board members appointed by then-Gov. Neil Abercrombie worked at firms connected with his biggest campaign contributors. Those two board members were Brian Tamamoto, an executive of a subsidiary of local development firm Kobayashi Group, and Lois Mitsunaga, with engineering firm Mitsunaga & Associates.

AT the time, the board was often criticized for approving plans for condo towers that deviated from HCDA rules on spacing, podium heights, orientation and street setbacks. The agency said its rules provide flexibility for such things. But critics viewed such decisions as allowing developers to boost profits at the expense of community health.

Since then the new board rejected a proposal by Ward Village developer Hughes Corp. to provide half as much affordable housing if it built rental apartments and kept the units affordable for twice as long as required. A recent decision also imposed a deadline for Hughes Corp. to build a central public plaza that the company intended to build later.

The City Council is expected to finalize its list of nominees Wednesday and send them to Ige.