Land use panel is urged
to reject new housing project

Opponents say there is no need for
more housing in the Central Oahu area

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By Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.com

Does Central Oahu even need the 7,500 new homes proposed for Castle & Cooke's Koa Ridge Project? opponents asked yesterday at a state Land Use Commission hearing.

The question was among the tactics used to try to persuade the commission not to convert 1,250 acres of agricultural land to an urban designation.

Community planning expert Harrison Bright Rue pointed to U.S. census data showing that between 1990 and 2000, Mililani Town actually had a 2.56 percent population decrease and Wahiawa had a 7.1 percent population decrease, while Waipahu saw a 5.32 percent population increase.

At the same time, housing units available increased by 4.27 percent for Mililani, increased 2.34 percent for Wahiawa and were up 3.8 percent for Waipahu.

The bottom line, Rue said, is that census figures show Mililani had 270 vacant units, Wahiawa had 524 vacant units and Waipahu had 467 vacant units in 2000.

Rue said Castle & Cooke's plans did not fit with either Oahu's Sustainable Communities plans or with the concept of "smart growth," which is being adopted across the country.

Smart growth generally favors redevelopment of areas that already have infrastructure, such as streets and utilities, over undeveloped areas like pineapple fields, Rue said.

The commission will hear more testimony from opponents affiliated with the Sierra Club and the Mililani Neighborhood Board when it meets again Feb. 1. It has until June to decide whether to grant the developer's request.

If the lands are converted to urban uses, the kamaaina home-builder then would have to seek zoning approvals from the City Council.

Randy Ching, a Sierra Club executive committee member, testified that the project at full build-out would use up existing ground water in the area and require using desalinated water, which costs seven times more to bring to customers.