Neighbors of a planned 64-unit housing development in Hilo are skeptical about whether it is a good fit for the area.
The Kaiaulu O Kapiolani Housing Development is a proposed complex to be built near the intersection of Kukuau Street and Kapiolani Avenue that would offer units to households earning 60% or less of the area’s median income.
An environmental assessment for that project was published Tuesday in the State Office of Planning and Sustainable Development’s Environmental Notice. That assessment found that the project would have no significant impact on the surrounding environment.
According to the assessment, the project would consist of 32 two-bedroom units, 24 three-bedroom units, and eight four-bedroom units on a currently undeveloped 5.05-acre lot close to the Hawaii Police Department.
The project appears to be somewhat behind schedule. The assessment states construction was estimated to begin in the first quarter of 2022, with final completion by April 2023.
The budget for the project is estimated to be $53.8 million, an increase from the earlier draft environmental assessment, which put the budget at $46.4 million. Funding sources include state tax credits, tax exempt bonds and Section 8 project vouchers.
Despite the finding of no significant impact, nearby residents have doubts about the project. Included within the environmental assessment is correspondence between the developers — California-based company A9795 Hilo L.P. — and residents voicing concerns with logistical aspects of the project.
Most significantly, several residents are concerned about the impact the development would have on nearby traffic patterns. The project would have two primary vehicular exits — one onto Kapiolani Avenue and the other onto Kukuau Street.
Peter Vana, who owns a property adjacent to the project site, wrote that the narrow, mostly residential Kukuau Street is unsuited to bear two years of construction traffic, particularly because its intersection with Kapiolani already has such poor visibility that traffic mirrors are required.
Exacerbating the problem is the fact that the Kapiolani entrance to the site has limited traffic control. Vana wrote that the proposed entrance would create a “right-turn in and right-turn out only” setup, with no turn lanes or traffic lights to mitigate access.
“The project developer should install a center turn lane,” Vana wrote. “After all, there is a ten foot wide future road widening strip along the entire Kapiolani Street fronting the project. This road widening with a center turn land should be done now. This will allow left turns into and out of the project on Kapiolani Street across from the police department. As it stands, with no left turns into or out of the project on Kapiolani, all the traffic will be routed through the back of the project onto Kukuau Street and then down to the Kukuau/Kapiolani Street intersection.”
In a response to Vana, Rachel Okoji, president of Honolulu consultant firm Environmental Risk Analysis, wrote only that a 2019 traffic study “determined traffic in the area mainly serviced local traffic and all intersections … were observed to operate adequately.”
Another resident, Patricia Tummons, noted a litany of faults with a draft environmental assessment done last year, many of which remain unaddressed in the final draft. Most significantly, she wrote, the project site is subject to a drainage easement to manage water runoff from uphill.
The environmental assessment claims that a drainage system will divert runoff to dry wells on the property and will be able to manage flooding from a 50-year storm for one hour straight.
However, Vana argued that the draft significantly underestimates the risk of flooding in the area, noting the 52 inches of rain deposited by Hurricane Lane in 2018, and adding that similar extreme weather events will happen more and more frequently as the effects of climate change are felt.
Vana also noted that the project site is so low that sewage wastewater will have to be pumped uphill to enter a sewermain beneath Kukuau Street, which he wrote will have unpleasant ramifications if a power outage disables the pumps.
Okoji’s responses to Vana and Tummons simply stated that “the installation of drywells would decrease runoff from the site compared to existing conditions.” She also stated that the project’s wastewater system will be reviewed by the county and that “contingencies will be incorporated into the planning.”
Representatives for A0705 Hilo L.P. did not respond to requests for comment.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.