When The Schuler Division of D.R. Horton Inc. announced plans to build as many as 15,000 more units in 'Ewa over the next 20 to 30 years, some 'Ewa residents worried about the impact of a huge new project comparable to Mililani in their neighborhood.

The impact will be real, but don't expect a cap on housing or development in Hawai'i. Expect tens of thousands of new homes, with O'ahu's population projected to climb from 913,000 last year to 1.12 million in 2030.

It was urgent demand for affordable housing decades ago that led to 'Ewa being thrown open for development, and Kapolei being conceived as a new "second city" urban employment hub.

Today, the demand for affordable housing for working people has emerged as a critical economic issue.

Leroy Laney, a Hawai'i Pacific University economics professor, said employers report "nobody can find workers to do anything, skilled or unskilled jobs." Hawai'i had the lowest unemployment rate in the nation for more than two years, and state unemployment remains among the lowest in the nation.

Why are workers so slow to migrate to such a desirable place to live to fill the available jobs? Largely because of the high cost of living, led by the sky-high cost of housing. Laney believes the shortage of affordable housing has already led to a labor shortage that in turn restricts economic growth.

That said, it probably isn't possible to build "enough" affordable housing here. "It is, I suppose, physically possible, but it's highly unlikely that we'll be able to satisfy the demand," Laney said.

"We're always going to be a relatively high-cost-of-living place because home prices here are higher, and part of that, of course, is driven by offshore demand, and the fact that it is a desirable place for second homes. That tends to drive our market. It just feeds through to the local economy, and it hurts local people who are trying to live and work here, and they're the ones who make the place run."

Cheryl Soon, who was city director of Transportation Services from 1996 to 2004, said Hawai'i residents aren't ready to lock out new residents, even if that were possible. But many are questioning our pace and style of growth.

"I think many of us in Hawai'i are asking, should we not hold ourselves to a very high standard?" she said. "We were blessed with living in an absolutely gorgeous place with perfect weather, and perhaps we have a stewardship responsibility in return."