Editorial: Neighborhoods need their boards

Oahu comprises the population center of the City and County of Honolulu, which also extends out to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The fact that it’s governed by one City Council does not dismiss the individual spirit of its component communities. Haleiwa, Kapolei, Kailua, Hawaii Kai, Aiea, Waianae … none of these neighborhoods is like the other.

In the absence of separate municipal councils, the city had the foresight to create, almost 50 years ago, the Neighborhood Commission Office, which administers a system of neighborhood boards. The first of these was established for the Mililani/Waipio/Melemanu communities in 1975, followed months later by five more.

Oahu now has 33 boards in operation, meeting monthly. Members are volunteers, but they are elected by residents within the community boundaries. Starting Friday, candidate registration will begin, with applications available online (web1.hnl.info/nbe). Candidates must file by Feb. 17, in advance of the voting period: April 28-May 19.

This is something that residents should see as a viable option for contributing their time in a way that can have real impact.

These are advisory boards — final decisions end up with the City Council in Honolulu Hale — but their votes still have influence. The Aiea and Aliamanu/ Salt Lake/Foster Village boards both responded to the state’s community outreach in the Aloha Stadium redevelopment planning, to name one recent high-profile example.

Developers, including those proposing more modest projects, generally are required by permitting agencies to make their case before community groups, with the neighborhood boards at the top of the list.

In 2020 the Kailua Neighborhood Board was a large part of the community blowback to a proposal for a low-income apartment complex edging a single-family subdivision. The Council never had to make the call on the project because the developer withdrew its proposal.

Whatever those watching from the sidelines think of this particular case, it was the neighborhood board and residents attending the meetings who played a key role in the discussion and undoubtedly influenced the outcome.

Neighborhood boards also have been a large part of the heated conversation over vacation rentals islandwide. Their feedback factored into the reforms to the short-term rental regulations now in effect, by amplifying public opinions on the issue. If a Council member needs to gauge public support for an idea, the neighborhood boards provide one important measure.

Neighborhood board members are fledgling members of the political class, but they are members all the same. This is often the entry point for someone who later builds on those experiences and contacts to mount a campaign for higher office. Glance at the resume for any number of established Oahu-based politicians, and neighborhood board service is likely to be among the credentials.

At that starting point, it can seem an underappreciated role. It’s hard to generate a lot of excitement around board elections when constituents generally are unfamiliar with candidates and uncertain how or whether to vote.

Residents should take an interest in board meetings, where they can raise issues early enough in the planning process to have some influence.

But even if they don’t, that influence is very real.

Anyone can be a candidate as long as he or she is 18 and lives in the district of the seat being sought. Some boards are broken down into subdistricts, and the candidate must live within those bounds.

There are many volunteer opportunities, but few with the potential impact of neighborhood board service. A well-planned Oahu depends on the willingness of more people to step up.