Letter: Raising height limit a gift to developers

Legislation was advanced to change the height limit for some Kakaako buildings from the current 400 feet to allow building up to 768 feet to create a “signature urban skyline” (“Hawaii lawmakers open to taller high-rises,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 11).

This is absolutely ridiculous. It should be viewed as nothing more than a gift to the developers of Kakaako real estate to the detriment to all of us who have to look at the already overbuilt Honolulu skyline.

It was a bad idea when then- governor Neil Abercrombie proposed a 650-foot tower by Mother Waldron Park, and the Hawaii Community Development Authority’s vision of 700-foot towers at transit stops is a bad idea now.

There are better options available to achieve higher densities in the urban core than lifting the 400-foot limit.

John Arnest

Wilhelmina Rise

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