Question: Auwe! When the city closed Foster Botanical Garden in February, it said it would reopen around May Day. That did not happen. Why not?
Answer: Work at the urban Honolulu oasis is now expected to take about 16 weeks, rather than about 11 weeks as originally projected, because design plans had to be revised. The botanical garden, which closed Feb. 13, is now scheduled to reopen June 5.
“The delay was due to the project contractor running into issues with the original design for the entrance walkway. Primarily, the initial grade was too steep to make it ADA-compliant. Remedying this set us back a few weeks due to the redesign and permitting process,” Nathan Serota, spokesperson for Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation, said in an email.
ADA stands for the Americans With Disabilities Act, the federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all areas of public life.
Improving accessibility throughout the 14-acre botanical garden is the focus of the construction project, which the department said includes rebuilding the main entrance with new pavement, handrails, ramps and a low wall for seating; refurbishing disability parking stalls and signage; adding accessible plots to the community garden; renovating comfort stations; replacing a drinking fountain; and improving pathways throughout the garden.
Foster Botanical Garden, the oldest of the city’s five botanical gardens, has hundreds of species of tropical plants, flowers and trees, including some that were planted in the 1850s.
Q: I had an AlohaQ appointment for driver’s license renewal at 9 a.m. Friday at the Pearlridge site. The mall does not open until 10 a.m., so I couldn’t get to the satellite city hall for my appointment. I had confirmed the information through the website the day before. Any comment about this disconnect?
A: The city announced in mid-April that the Pearlridge Satellite City Hall had to abruptly change its hours because Pearlridge Center would no longer let people in an hour early to reach the facility. The satellite city hall’s current hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. People whose appointments were affected were contacted by the city, and it seems that most were reached; yours is the only complaint we’ve received.
People whose Pearlridge appointments were lost could reschedule for another day or walk in with priority status on the same day of their original appointment, the city said in April. Spokesperson Bill Powers said the process has generally worked well. “All who have had an appointment in the 9-to-10 a.m. hour and showed up were priority processed that day,” he said Monday.
The AlohaQ system did not automatically cancel appointments, so people could walk in the same day, Powers said. That explains why you were able to check your appointment online the day before.
Q: Where can I read “the monster home ordinance” that I hear about on the news?
A: Section 21-3.70-1 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu lays out development standards for residential districts on Oahu. Although it doesn’t use the phrase “monster home,” this seems to be the law to which you refer, and specifies that “for one-family or two-family detached dwellings or duplexes constructed pursuant to building permits applied for after May 1, 2019, the impervious surface area of a zoning lot must not exceed 75 percent of the total zoning lot area.”
You can find this section in the ROH online, at honolulu.gov/ocs/roh.html.
Mahalo
My husband and I were riding our tandem along Kamehameha Highway on April 30 just before lunch and took a spill. I had some minor bruising. We would like to thank the gentleman and lady who took time out of their day to stop and make sure we were OK. Their kindness and compassion are very much appreciated. — Two grateful riders
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
