Letter: Kailuans don’t oppose affordable housing
The patronizing tone of your editorial regarding Kailua’s need for affordable housing was unwarranted (“Kailua needs more affordable housing,” Star-Advertiser, Our View, Sept. 7).
The demise of the proposed affordable housing complex at Kawainui and Oneawa streets a few years ago was not caused by NIMBYism, but by the vision of farsighted Kailuans (“Developer withdraws Kailua affordable- housing plan,” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 23, 2020). The wrong location of this high-density project in residential zoning, the assessment of its negative impacts on the area and community, and the dangerous precedent it represented, are what doomed the project — not NIMBYism.
The loss of affordable rentals in Kailua’s neighborhoods is due in large part to the city’s failure to rein in the spread of illegal vacation rentals.
I applaud the city’s purchase of the two apartment-zoned parcels on Kihapai Street for affordable rentals (“City purchases Kailua plot for affordable housing project,” Star-Advertiser, Top News, Aug. 31).
I feel confident that the majority of Kailuans will have an open mind and will welcome a project that meets zoning requirements and abides by the guidelines of our sustainable communities development plan.
Ursula Retherford
Kailua
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