Fight heats up over
Aina Haina chapel

Neighbors say a commercial
concern would harm their single-
family neighborhood

By Ian Lind
Star-Bulletin

A clash over history and how to preserve it is tearing at the social seams of an East Honolulu neighborhood.

Bayer Estate LLC has applied for a city permit to operate a commercial wedding business in a historic Aina Haina home, saying that will make it possible to maintain and preserve a small slice of Hawaii's past.

But neighbors say the historic-preservation claims are a smoke screen to bypass zoning restrictions and allow the moneymaking venture into their single-family neighborhood.

It's the latest battle between developers of wedding chapels, popular among monied Japanese visitors, and nearby residents who see them as unwanted commercial intrusions into residential areas.

The company was formed by Susan M. Mirikitani and her husband, Castle & Cooke Vice President Richard K. Mirikitani, in August 1997. Richard Mirikitani is the brother of City Councilman Andy Mirikitani.

The home was bought by the Mirikitanis' father in 1972. It was used as a rental unit until last year, when it was listed in the state Register of Historic Places and then leased to the new company.

Andy Mirikitani said he received a small ownership interest in the property several years ago "for estate planning purposes." But the councilman said his brother "leased the family property to himself and his wife for this business."

"I have had no knowledge or involvement in it, and it was done without any consultation with me," Andy Mirikitani said, adding that he has opposed commercial chapels in residential areas.

Bayer officers declined to discuss the proposal and responded to questions through planning consultant Keith H. Kurahashi, president of Kusao & Kurahashi Inc.

Bayer Estate LLC's application to the city says the wedding operations will have no measurable impact on noise or traffic and "will actually promote and enhance the residential element and appearance of the neighborhood."

The proposal to preserve the home and large yard has received support from the Historic Hawaii Foundation and the state Historic Preservation Division.

Commercial facilities are not normally allowed in residential areas but can be permitted to preserve historic structures; thus the endorsements are vital.

But Gregg Kashiwa, a development consultant, and Curtiss Ako, a high school science teacher, both grew up in the area and have filed objections on behalf of residents.

Kashiwa bristles at the suggestion that the wedding business could preserve an important part of the neighborhood.

"They've never lived here," Kashiwa said, referring to Richard and Susan Mirikitani, "but they come to our neighborhood and tell us what's good for us."

"It's a small neighborhood," he said, gesturing at the stretch of coastline near Aina Haina, bordered by Wailupe Stream and Kawaikui Beach Park, and sandwiched between Kalanianaole Highway and the ocean.

Kashiwa said the weddings at the Bayer Estate would add to those already being conducted at Calvary-by-the-Sea Lutheran Church, right next door. The two wedding businesses could magnify traffic and noise problems, he said.

The wedding business would run nine hours a day, six days a week, and earn far more than needed to preserve the property, Kashiwa and Ako say. The men believe the actual goal is private profit rather than historical preservation and therefore should not be granted special legal privileges.

They also fear city approval could lead to proliferation of commercial activity in residential areas. "People are watching what happens here," Kashiwa said.

A public hearing will be at 1:30 p.m. Monday in the city Personnel Department conference room.