My reply was that, while there were some factual errors in the article, it was generally on the mark.
It points out that we, in Hawaii, have been milking our economic cow and barely feeding it. The article should be a wake-up call for everybody concerned about the social and economic health of this state.
There are three components to a successful visitor destination: people, infrastructure and marketing.
You can probably say the same for almost any successful community, regardless of its economic base. Each of the three components must be in place and carefully nurtured if there is to be prosperity in today's competitive, global economy.
The Journal article on Hawaii touched on all three:
A first and important step in solving the perception that Waikiki is overcrowded and has too many "substandard" rooms is passage of the proposed revisions of the Waikiki Special District (WSD) zoning ordinance.
One of the major reasons that Waikiki feels crowded and has a large inventory of rooms that are not up to international standards is that the existing, restrictive WSD has all but stopped any development in Waikiki for nearly two decades.
Our research indicates that only one (that's right, only one!) new major project in Waikiki has been built since the passage of the WSD ordinance 20 years ago that meets all of the requirements of that ordinance.
All the other projects (and there haven't been many) have needed a variance of one kind or another in order to be built.
The result? In many areas of Waikiki, there are old, squat, low-rise hotel buildings built in another era that come right to the sidewalk or property line. The rooms inside, the lobbies and the public amenities were built at a much different time for a much different market.
They fit the market then but are now hopelessly obsolete. Many are desperately in need of renovation, but it would be foolish to spend money trying to bring yesterday's product up to today's international standards within these existing building shells.
What is needed in many instances is a totally new product in keeping with the expectations of today's travelers. This cannot be accomplished within the strictures of the current zoning in Waikiki.
Under the proposed changes to the WSD, property owners would be encouraged to replace these antiquated hotels with modern facilities in set-back, slender highrise towers. With this type of redevelopment, the kind of Waikiki that was originally envisioned by the WSD will finally take place.
Open space at ground level will appear where there is none today, with the elimination of the low, squat buildings that now hog the ground-floor space. With this increased open space, the overall pedestrian experience will be improved for the benefit of visitors and residents alike.
These amendments will provide the mechanism to spur the private sector to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in revitalizing Waikiki's visitor plant. This revitalization is critically needed today to keep Waikiki and Hawaii competitive in a worldwide travel and tourism market that has numerous choices which are closer and cheaper.
These proposed amendments to the WSD have been recently endorsed by the Waikiki Neighborhood Board, whose members were elected by all of the residents of Waikiki.
Now some politicians who oppose the changes to the WSD, and do not like the vote of the neighborhood board, have led the formation of a special-interest group, the Waikiki Area Action Association.
The members of this new organization seek to disenfranchise their own elected representatives - the same representatives that they praised when votes went their way.
Members of this group seek to pit Waikiki residents against Waikiki residents, and Waikiki residents against Waikiki employees and businesses, just to achieve their agenda.
That is sad because residents, employees and businesses all want the same thing for Waikiki - a better Waikiki for all, with an improved pedestrian experience, an environment that reinforces the sense of Hawaii, safety, beauty, convenience, job opportunities, an economic base and a chance for Hawaii to remain competitive in today's global marketplace.
We should all seek to build bridges, not strive to drive wedges, within our community.
Let's hope that the recent Wall Street Journal article will help to put things into perspective so that everybody can work together and move forward with the needed changes in Waikiki.