Your editorial, “No giveaways on TOD development” (Star-Advertiser, Our View, July 25), correctly called out our City Council members for their infatuation with developers, to the detriment of their constituents.
Unlike the 1538 Kapiolani Tower project, the Council, in permitting the Kuilei Place project, did not even need to use the fig leaf of transit-oriented development (TOD) to give Kobayashi Group a sweetheart deal, waiving tens of millions of dollars of infrastructure connection fees and scrapping density, height (400 feet versus 150 feet) and other zoning restrictions that had been in place for 40 years.
News flash: The 60% of “affordable” units in Kuilei Place, for families making $140,000, are not affordable for those this project will displace.
The timid, beseeching tone of Council Chair Tommy Waters’ after-the-fact plea to Kobayashi to do more to relocate the evictees sends a clear message as to who is really in charge here (“Hawaii developer is asked to do more for evicted residents,” Star-Advertiser, July 24). His denial of lavish campaign contributions influencing Council decisions rang hollow to my ears.
Ken Sentner
Moiliili
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