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North Shore
private high
school OK’d

The city planning panel grants
the new school the needed permits
despite some opposition

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By Crystal Kua
Star-Bulletin

Plans to build a private high school in Waialua could force the North Shore to endure more growing pains.

Supporters of Aloha Ke Akua High School say the school would give North Shore parents the option of sending their children to a private high school within their community instead of subjecting them to a 40-mile commute to school in downtown Honolulu.

But area residents, environmentalists and a Hawaiian culture expert told the city Planning Commission yesterday that the school could end up contributing to the urbanization of an area once dominated by agriculture.

After listening to both sides, the commission voted unanimously to grant the school the necessary special use permit and zoning changes it needs to continue the project.

Planning for the school was begun in 1996 by parents and members of St. Michael's parish. St. Michael's school enrolls students from kindergarten through the eighth grade.

The planned nondenominational school will serve as many as 500 students in grades 9 to 12. The school will be on agricultural land owned by Dole Food Co. at Kaukonahua Road and Farrington Highway. While the property is about 23 acres, the school will be on about 14.9 acres with the remaining acreage sitting idle with some older buildings on it.

Henry Curtis, Life of the Land executive director, said segmenting the property in that way allows the school to bypass what he believes are necessary state approvals.

Curtis said the city Planning Commission is the wrong agency to deal with the issue.

"The Land Use Commission is specialized in looking at ag land throughout the state and figuring out which parcels can be urbanized and which ones should remain in ag," Curtis said.

But the school's lead planner, who also lives on the North Shore, said the school has taken the appropriate track in seeking approvals.

"We're just applying for what is allowed under the current land use laws," Jeff Overton said. "We're not trying to take the back door in any way. We're really doing everything by the book and also trying to take the most expeditious way."

Overton also said that going to the Land Use Commission would delay the project and hamper efforts to raise the needed $5 million for the project.

"Things move slow in Hawaii and we're trying to show progress," Overton said.

Jacob Ng, president of the Hukilau Loop Association, a subdivision adjacent to the future school site, told the commission his organization is worried about traffic, noise, safety, sewage, increased real property values and other woes.

But Ng's graphic example of the potential for a student being hit by a car also struck a chord with commissioners. "Kaukonahua Road is one of the most dangerous roads on Oahu," Ng told them.

Overton said the school is committed to working with nearby residents to mitigate noise, traffic and other issues. Ng said that if the school does address the neighbors' concerns, they would support the project.