The Hawaiʻi Community Development Authority wants $1 million for community planning sessions and an infrastructure assessment of Kakaʻako Makai. That includes evaluating residential, hotel and manufacturing development in the area.
The state transferred Kakaʻako Makai to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in 2012, but residential development on the property is banned.
The funding for the assessment is part of the state budget being considered at the Capitol.
It comes after lawmakers deferred a measure that sought to allow OHA to start building residential buildings in Kakaʻako Makai.
But legislators are considering a resolution that would add questions to the HCDA assessment.
“Really supporting the resolution, which I did, just added a few questions, added a few additional topic inquiries into the community engagement,” said Rep. Kim Coco Iwamoto, who represents the Kakaʻako-Ala Moana area.
“I support it because I want to know — and that's why I was willing to spend money on the survey from my office is — I do want to know what the community thinks, especially the community that I represent, how they feel about building 400 feet up and also building residential in the Kakaʻako Makai area.”
Before the measure was deferred, Iwamoto's office was planning a big mailing survey that would have cost about $7,000 to gauge public opinion on the Kakaʻako Makai development.
In a preliminary questionnaire sent by email, about 140 constituents responded. About 88% were against OHA's Kakaʻako Makai proposal, 7% supported it, and 4% were neutral.
If funded, the HCDA assessment is expected in 2026.
