Kailua affordable-housing project faces stiff opposition

Kailua community members turned out in force Friday night to hear about and comment on a four-story affordable-housing complex for low-income residents planned on an edge of the Coconut Grove neighborhood of single- family homes.

Close to 400 people flocked to the special Kailua Neighborhood Board meeting at Kailua District Park — so many that an overflow crowd spilled out of a multipurpose room into an adjacent pavilion and a ballfield in a largely successful attempt to respect social distancing in the fight against COVID-19.

Public sentiment was mostly opposed to the project, and more than 50 people lined up to speak following a 45-minute presentation by developer Makani Maeva of Kailua- based Ahe Group.

“We have a responsibility to take care of our people,” said longtime Kailua resident Jade Lau, who lives behind an existing four-story building. “It sucks to have a 40-foot building in your backyard.”

Another speaker who didn’t give her name said the proposed project would contribute to urban sprawl. “This is not a mixed-use-zoned neighborhood,” she said.

The project with 73 rental apartments is planned on the edge of the Coconut Grove neighborhood bordering Kailua’s commercial core, on a nearly 1-acre lot at a corner of Oneawa and Kawainui streets that is occupied by seven single- family homes now owned by an affiliate of Ahe.

Ahe is committing to maintain affordable rents at the project dubbed Kawainui Street Apartments for 61 years. Monthly rental rates are projected to range from $521 to $1,412 for 68 affordable units with one or two bedrooms. Four units would be rented at close to market rates and one unit would be for a manager.

Tenants for the 68 units cannot earn more than 60% of Honolulu’s median income, with some units reserved for households earning even less.

Kailua Neighborhood Board Chairman Bill Hicks said the board received 184 pieces of emailed testimony on the project, with 160 opposed and 24 in support.

Hicks noted that of the 160 emails in opposition, 149 were a form letter that characterized the project as a “monstrosity” that would change the character of the neighborhood.

The board also received online comments from 38 people: 33 in opposition, four in support and one of mixed opinion.

Hicks also relayed results of an online petition submitted to the board. Of 632 participants, 84% opposed the project and 15% endorsed it.

Many of the complaints about the project revolved around density as well as traffic.

Maeva said the project’s density is appropriate given that the site is across the street from an auto parts store, a gas station and a 7-Eleven store. She also said traffic congestion is mainly created by repeated trips to commercial establishments, and that a traffic assessment for her project concluded it would not have a significant negative impact. There would be 53 parking stalls and 85 spaces for bikes at the proposed Kawainui Street Apartments.

Audience members in the crowd occasionally jeered or groaned at claims by Maeva regarding building setbacks and traffic. She said Hawaii has a problem with not enough affordable housing, especially in Kailua.

“We understand that this is a higher-density project,” she said.

Keith Webster, an official with Faith Action for Community Equity, said outside the meeting that the project is needed and isn’t out of place. “It’s right on the outskirts of town,” he said.

About 40 supporters of Faith Action attended Friday’s meeting, some wearing red shirts with the words “Housing Now.”

Under a state law, Ahe Group could be granted exemptions to zoning rules including height and density by the City Council because the project would deliver housing mainly for low- income residents.

Ahe, which is partnering with three nonprofits on the estimated $37 million project, has filed an application with the city Department of Planning and Permitting seeking the exemptions and waivers for at least $522,000 in city fees. It will be up to the City Council to decide whether to approve the exemptions and allow the project.

The neighborhood board’s stance on Kawainui Street Apartments will be taken into account by the Council. The board anticipates taking a position at its July 2 meeting.

If the developer receives approvals, construction could start in December and be finished in early 2022.