The ambitious plan to redevelop the 15-acre Kam Drive-In site in Aiea could also help spawn hundreds of low-income housing units near the Pearlridge Transit Station and other hubs along the city’s upcoming $5.26 billion rail line.

The scope of Live Work Play Aiea, directly across Kaonohi Street from Pearlridge Center, ensures it will change the landscape of the Aiea-Pearl City corridor. The project is the first transit-oriented development on Oahu and "the first substantial residential project built in the Aiea and Pearlridge communities in more than 30 years," said John Manavian, executive vice president of Robertson Properties.

Final City Council votes are expected next month on a bill giving mixed-used zoning for Robertson’s project. Also moving through committee and expected to come before the full Council is a resolution that adopts a development agreement reached with Robertson that details benefits the community will receive.

The project calls for up to 1,500 housing units in five buildings one each with maximum heights of 350, 300 and 250 feet, and two up to 150 feet. The current height limit is 60 feet. Besides homes, the project is expected to bring retail and office space, and one of the five towers could instead be a 175-room hotel.

The developer is agreeing to place the equivalent of 30 percent of its total housing units in the so-called affordable housing category or find ways of fulfilling that requirement outside the project site terms that are currently the standard for any residential project seeking zoning from the city. Federal housing guidelines define affordability as homes within reach of families making between 80 and 140 percent of area median income.

What’s unique about the Live Work Play Aiea affordable-housing condition is that in exchange for being able to build up to half the affordable units off-site, the developer is agreeing to provide a greater number of units aimed at people making 60 to 80 percent of median and to keep the units available for those income levels for longer periods of time.

The City Council Zoning and Planning Committee voted unanimously March 20 to approve Bill 68, which gives mixed-used zoning, as well as Resolution 14-30, which adopts a development agreement that locks in the conditions agreed to by both Robertson and the city.

The terms of the development could go a long way in the effort by Council members to steer more affordable housing toward the most needy Oahu residents.

In addition to designating 30 percent of the total units as affordable, Robertson would be the first developer to agree upfront that at least 50 percent of those units would be on-site, and any affordable units off-site would be governed by a stricter set of rules, under the final language worked in by Council Zoning Chairman Ikaika Anderson.

The off-site affordable units must either be within half a mile of the Pearlridge Transit Station (known as the Pearlridge Transit-Oriented Development area) or within half a mile of any other transit station along the city’s upcoming 20-mile rail line between Kapolei and Ala Moana, and they must be rental units.

Required affordable units in the Pearlridge area, however, can be either for sale or for rent.

Additionally, depending on where those off-site units are located, they must be priced for people making no more than 60 percent of Oahu’s median income and must remain categorized as affordable for up to 60 years; or priced for those making up to 80 percent of median and remain affordable for 20 years.

The city’s affordable-housing rules do not specify how many units must be on-site; that’s typically an issue negotiated by DPP with the developer after rezoning.

Standard DPP guidelines require no rentals and only a minimum of 10 years to remain affordable to those making no more than 80 to 140 percent of median.

Critics, including several Council members, say those guidelines do not help families in low-income brackets.

"The 60 percent and below median income (group) is a very, very difficult segment of the population to provide for," Anderson said. "They’re some of our most needy families."

Robertson has agreed to allow rentals outside the Pearlridge transit area for those making 60 to 80 percent of median income.

"The only way we can move these (affordable) units out of our area is by accommodating rental housing," said Robertson’s Manavian.

Councilman Breene Harimoto, who represents the Aiea-Pearl City region, said "the developer has heard our concerns loud and clear as it relates to low-income rentals. I think we struck a very good balance. We allowed them more flexibility beyond what is required. In return, I think we accomplished what is very difficult to do:We got a commitment from the developer for low-income rental units."

DPP is reviewing its overall affordable-housing program for developers.

Councilman Ron Menor wants to make changes to the rules, including:

» Reducing the maximum household income for affordable units to 120 percent of median, from the current 140 percent.

» A minimum of 15 percent of required affordable units reserved for households earning no more than 80 percent of median, up from the current 10 percent.

» Requiring a minimum of 30 percent of units as rentals.

The agreement with Robertson requires the building of affordable units prior to each new phase of on-site housing.

The language also factors in the size of units when determining whether Robertson is meeting its requirement. To receive "credit" for one affordable-housing unit, the developer will need to provide a one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit, planning officials said. A studio would give the developer less than one credit, while a three-bedroom unit would be worth more.

Among other requirements that Robertson has agreed to:

» Major retail tenants will need to provide up to 30 of its employees with bus-transit passes.

» A $1 million endowment to a nonprofit corporation, which would go toward community benefits for the Aiea-Pearl City community.

» A lengthy series of "sustainable measures" dealing with everything from reducing light pollution to water efficiency and energy conservation.

Many who support the project have commented on the need for affordable homes and revitalizing the Aiea core. Residents of condominiums mauka of the project have voiced objections, citing impacts on traffic and view planes. A petition opposing the project contains 1,200 signatures.

The developer has promised several million dollars in road improvements, including a new thoroughfare from Moanalua Road to Kaonohi Street. Robertson also said it has reconfigured its project to minimize the impact on view planes.

Full build-out is expected to take 13 years with a total price tag of $750 million.

Kam Drive-In closed in 1998, but a swap meet is currently held at the site three times a week.