How much housing should be allowed in Oahu’s business district?

Landlords would be allowed to build apartments in business districts such as Kapahulu Street, Kaimuki and Kapolei under a bill that would amend Honolulu’s land use ordinance.

The proposal represents the latest example of Honolulu city officials gradually moving toward creating more mixed-use districts where homes and businesses exist side by side. This comes as the city seeks new ways to provide affordable housing to residents struggling with exorbitant rents and housing prices.

Councilwoman Esther Kiaina also plans to float the idea of ​​expanding the measure to include central Oahu, from Waipahu to Wahiawa.

“We want to identify opportunities for housing development that don’t exist right now,” said Chiaina Chief of Staff Jocelyn Doan. But she stressed the need to strike a balance “to avoid completely eliminating all business districts.”

Proposals to allow more family housing in the business district have come from the Planning and Permissions Authority.

This is in the same category as proposals to convert vacant office space into housing or loosen development restrictions around train stations in an effort to promote walkable communities.

Democratic Party spokesman Curtis Lamb declined to be interviewed, but the department’s August 2022 letter supports changes to allow more mixed-use districts, specifically aimed at increasing housing supply on Oahu. mentioned.

Above ground floor

Mixed-use districts often have retail on the ground floor and housing above. An earlier version of the bill would have prohibited building residential buildings on the ground floor. However, the proposed amendments provide a choice. Either the residence must be on his first floor or above, or the building site must exceed minimum standards for business use (to be determined).

Imagine a 7-Eleven sharing space with a three-story apartment building. The proposed amendment would allow this in business districts.

Developers approached the DPP in 2022, saying they could build more housing without the ground floor ban, especially on undeveloped land on the outskirts of metropolitan Honolulu. A DPP letter from the same year highlighted this point, citing data from developer DR Horton and Colliers showing that the changes would increase the potential for new housing on the site from 35,000 new homes to 55,000. Quoted.

Current law generally prohibits residence in Honolulu’s business district. The proposed bill and amendments would allow multifamily housing, but require a minimum number of nonresidential uses to be determined.

The proposed amendments would limit the amount of housing allowed within business zones to avoid crowding businesses.

The scope of the change is limited to areas where the majority of long-term population growth is expected, such as the Pearl City to Kahala section of Oahu’s south coast and the Ewa Plains.

The extent of affected areas is difficult to quantify. Honolulu’s zoning designation map looks more like a quirky, irregular jigsaw puzzle than a checkerboard of evenly spaced neighborhoods.

Areas zoned for business are somewhat dispersed, including, but not limited to, Kapahulu Avenue, much of Waialae Avenue in Kaimuki, and most of surrounding Kapolei from H-1 to Kamaaha Avenue.

The need for a major overhaul of Honolulu’s land use ordinances was first discussed in late 2022 to spring 2023. Many people testified to the contrary, saying the roughly 250-page omnibus was too comprehensive, even if they agreed with specific changes. Make it meaningfully understandable to the general public.

Review of revived land use

Land-use ordinances regulate everything from how many hives beekeepers must keep to where nurseries can be located to whether convenience stores have drive-throughs. That’s why cemeteries can only have one residence for the caretaker.

Bill 64 is essentially a new version of Bill 10 of 2022. Chiaina introduced new measures in November 2023, with the intention of holding separate public hearings for each category of land use.

The industrial and commercial categories were discussed last spring. The residential use is scheduled to be discussed Thursday at a meeting with the City Council’s Planning and Economics Committee at Honolulu Hale. Pending topics for the coming months include public, civic, institutional uses, agricultural uses, and other applications.

Currently, the only residences allowed in the business district are consulates of foreign governments and residences designated for managers and owners, which are regulated as “special accessory residences.”

Expanding it to allow multifamily housing such as apartments could drastically change these neighborhoods.

The bill would require a minimum square footage designated for nonresidential uses. The current draft of the bill would be 10,000 square feet depending on the total area, or 40,000 square feet depending on a fixed percentage of 20% of the floor area. However, these numbers are not yet finalized.

“When you look at the specific amendments, she leaves both options blank because she wants to give importance to the public’s opinion,” said Doan, Chiaina’s chief of staff.

“The devil is in the details”

Kaimuki’s main business artery, Waialae Avenue, home to stores such as Tamura’s liquor and poke shop, Happy Days Chinese seafood restaurant and The Curve coffee shop, is one of the areas slated to be opened to housing.

“Generally, I support this initiative,” said Kaimuki resident Brian Kang, who serves as the area’s neighborhood president, but stressed he was speaking only for himself.

“I think this obviously provides us with the additional housing that we need, but it’s also nice to have this live-work atmosphere,” he said.

While increased foot traffic is a good thing, “the devil is in the details,” Kang said.

Vehicle traffic and parking requirements need to be considered, he said, adding he wants Waialae to remain a primarily commercial area.

Arlene Velasco, vice president of the Diamond Head-Kapahulu Neighborhood Association, said Kapahulu Avenue could be revitalized and allowing a small number of residents to live above the shopping street is a step in the right direction. He said it could become.

“I’ve seen success in revitalizing downtown areas,” Velasco said, referring to similar efforts in San Diego, where he used to live. She has no problem with housing as long as it’s not in a high-rise building that could threaten the view or dwarf existing smaller buildings.

Sterling Higa, executive director of Housing Hawaii’s Future, a movement that creates housing opportunities for Hawaii’s next generation, said mixed-use districts are a great solution.

“If you go to the complexes of major cities around the world, like London, Paris, or Tokyo, you can find something interesting in each block,” Higa says. “Having a single city block without interesting uses on the ground floor could significantly disrupt the walkability and continuity of this mixed-use district.”