Lawsuit filed over
Ala Wai project

A complaint entered in court
aims to stop work until after
an environmental inquiry

A Waikiki resident is seeking a temporary restraining order against the city to stop a $2.4 million Ala Wai Boulevard project under way since Aug. 2 until a decision can be made on whether the plan should undergo an environmental assessment.

Robert Kessler, who says the Ala Wai plan will substantially harm the community, filed a complaint in Circuit Court yesterday.

He is seeking to stall the project at least until Thursday, when the state Environmental Council is expected to make a recommendation on whether the project should undergo an environmental assessment.

City spokeswoman Carol Costa said yesterday that the city has not seen the complaint, and declined comment at this time.

Kessler is part of group of at least 40 residents set to address the council and push for an environmental assessment.

A growing number of community members have spoken out against the project in the last month, saying it will disrupt traffic and remove much-needed parking spaces.

State Office of Environmental Quality Control Director Genevieve Salmonson asked the city in a letter last Tuesday to delay the project until the upcoming council meeting.

City Managing Director Ben Lee told the Star-Bulletin last week that he had not seen the request. He declined to comment on whether the city administration would be willing to halt construction.

The city would not be obligated to follow the council's recommendation, and has ignored the body's advice in the past.

The council never weighed in initially on whether an assessment was needed for the Ala Wai work because the city exempted itself from the process, a common practice for small projects.

Costa has said the project does not need an environmental assessment because no traffic lanes are affected. But concrete landscaping hubs are set to be installed in the boulevard's far-right parking lane, which was open to traffic during peak hours as late as May.

The Ala Wai project extends from the Waikiki-Kapahulu Public Library to about 110 feet before the McCully Street bridge. It also includes installation of a bike lane and the removal of about 60 free parking spaces along the Ala Wai Canal, which the city hopes to make up with two planned municipal lots.

Kessler alleged in the complaint that the exemptions claimed by the city apply only to "routine government operations such as maintenance and minor improvements" and not to projects of this magnitude. He said the project has significant environmental impact on the area ecology, culture, economy, public safety and quality of life for him and other residents.