Study Group To Look At Plan For Building Heights, Cemetery Expansion In Kaneohe

Facing an important deadline, the Kaneohe Neighborhood Board has appointed a group to study a city plan to guide growth in the area.

The group will focus on how the plan regulates high-rise buildings and the development of designated open space by cemeteries.

Called a permitted interaction group, the panel will meet 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, at the Koolaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club office, 46-005 Kawa St # 104, in the Yim’s Kaneohe Atrium building. The meeting is open to the public.

The meeting comes six weeks before the city is scheduled to hold the final public hearing on a revised version of the growth plan, also known as the Koolaupoko Sustainable Communities Plan. That meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 6, at Pali Golf Course, 45-050 Kamehameha Hwy.

Board members Mahealani Cypher and Bill Sager will co-chair the permitted interaction group. Board member Warren Ditch also is a member.

The permitted interaction group will study whether the revised plan would relax height limits on buildings in areas around transit hubs, such as the one in Kaneohe, and what position to take on the issue. Some interpret this section of the plan as affecting only hubs along the Honolulu Rail Transit Project. Others say it would apply to all hubs, including those like Kaneohe where building heights are more restricted.

The group also will study how the revised plan would affect construction on preservation land owned by cemeteries. Preservation land is set aside under city rules to save open space. A proposed change to the plan would allow expansion of the cemetery at Hawaiian Memorial Park onto 56.5 acres of preservation land that the park owns. The Department of Planning and Permitting supports the change. The group savekaneohe.org has asked the Board to oppose the expansion.

The permitted interaction group is expected to report its findings to the full Board at its next business meeting, Thursday, June 16. That meeting will be held in the cafeteria of Benjamin Parker Elementary School, 45-259 Waikalua Road, starting at 7 p.m.

Please join us for all of our meetings. If you are unable to attend, you may provide testimony online and contact Neighborhood Board members directly.

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