Kaka'ako bill should be vetoed by Lingle
State lawmakers responded quickly this year when a firestorm of public protest arose over a planned residential high-rise project on portions of state-owned land adjacent to Kaka'ako waterfront land.
They passed a bill that would prohibit any residential use of the prime chunk of underdeveloped land near downtown Honolulu.
That decision, while directly appealing to public emotions, does not add up to good public land-use planning.
Gov. Linda Lingle should veto House Bill 2555, and all parties should step back toward a more rational approach to this uniquely important piece of land.
The Kaka'ako Community Development Authority, the state agency charged (by the Legislature, by the way) with handling the redevelopment of the parcel, now says it is ready to back off its earlier idea to sell off a portion of the land for two high-rise residential condominiums.
Instead, the authority says it would now lease the land.
That changes the game somewhat, but obviously does not eliminate the possibility that housing might still be built oceanside of Ala Moana.
The authority says it wants to set up a community advisory committee to look at the parcel and its potential. A key question facing that committee would be whether there should be any residential use of the area at all, and if so, what kind of housing?
Cynics might argue that this process will simply bring the authority back to where it was when legislators stepped in.
It is critical that the authority take the public backlash seriously. There is obviously a strong feeling that this key piece of public oceanfront land should remain open and in public hands.
That's an appealing goal, but how can the state afford to build and maintain a quality public park? Any further tax burden would surely be met with resistance. The original idea was that the condominiums would help pay for the park and other amenities.
If that is not to be, then there must be a clear-eyed understanding of what is possible and how we can pay for it. Such decision-making is short-circuited if HB2555 becomes law. It should be vetoed.
