Volume I, Issue II, April 2003

VISIONING NEWSLETTER | VOLUME I, ISSUE II | APRIL 2003
P.O. Box 898900
Mililani, Hi 96789-8900
Collaborating on the plan
IDEAS EMERGE FOR
KOA RIDGE PLANNING
Hands-on workshop results in alternative visions
Thank You for Your Valuable Contributions!
PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS
Castle & Cooke invited about 70 community groups from Wahiawa to Pearl City
to participate in the visioning process. Of these, representatives from the
following 44 groups committed to attend.
Aiea Pearl City Business Association • American Youth Soccer Organization Ewa/Waipahu/Waipio • American Youth Soccer Organization - Pearl City
• Boy Scouts of America • Central Oahu Youth Baseball League • Cornerstone
Fellowship Mililani Mauka • Filipino Community Center • Gentry Business Park
PROJECT SCHEDULE
• Launch Koa Ridge website – April 2003
(www.koaridge.com)
• Site Tour – May 3, 2003
• Community Workshop #3 – May 13, 2003
• Community Workshop #4 – June 12, 2003
Association • Girl Scouts • Hawaii Bicycling League • Hawaii United Okinawan
• Complete Workshop Master Plan
Association • Kanoelani Elementary, SCBM Council • Makua Alii Softball League
• Incorporate Workshop Master Plan into Zoning
Application and Final EIS by July 2003
• Mililani Community Church • Mililani High School, SCBM Council • Mililani
Mauka/Launani Valley Neighborhood Board No. 35 • Mililani Town Association
• Mililani/Waipio/Melemanu N.B. No. 25 • New Hope Pearl City • Oahu Arts
Center • Oahu Resource Conservation & Development Council • Olaloa
Retirement Community • Pearl City Community Association • Pearl City High
School • Pearl City Makule Club • Pearl City N.B. No. 21 • St. Joseph Catholic
Church • St. Joseph School • Trinity United Methodist Church Pearl City
• Wahiawa Hawaiian Civic Club • Wahiawa Master Plan Committee • Wahiawa
N.B. No. 26 • Wahiawa Rainbows • Waipahu Community Association • Waipahu
• Submit Zone Change application to City and
County by December 2003
• First homes available in late 2007
Questions or Comments?
Contact Laura Kodama at 548–4825.
Wow! At our last workshop, you, the guests of the Koa Ridge
Community Workshop, immediately immersed yourselves in
creating the site plan for Koa Ridge and envisioning the look
and feel of the community. As shown in this newsletter, you
presented a wealth of ideas and concepts, some which are
very bold and unique.
Now comes the challenging part for Castle & Cooke and our
consultants to narrow down, refine and modify the concepts.
Not everything suggested will work. It may get complex
and there are some hard decisions to be made, but that’s
to be expected. This is a collaborative process in which our
planners and staff, using sound planning principles, will be
reviewing the plans and write ups from the six groups. By
the next workshop, our planners will blend and refine the
six plans into three or more distinct alternatives that will
be presented to you for further discussion.
Thank you for your valuable contributions. This has been
truly an exciting process for us. I hope you have enjoyed the
process as well. I look forward to seeing you at the next
workshop on May13th.
Community Association • Waipio Little League Baseball • YMCA Leeward Branch
Aloha,
Alan Arakawa
Vice President of Development and Construction
• YMCA Mililani
(see page 4 for participating organizations)
High School • Waipahu Intermediate • Waipahu N.B. No. 22 • Waipahu United
Church of Christ • Waipio Community Baptist Church • Waipio Gentry
Page 4 | VISIONING NEWSLETTER | VOLUME I, ISSUE II | APRIL 2003
The Koa Ridge community visioning process continued with a
dynamic workshop on April 8, 2003, where over 30 participants
created alternative visions for a new community.
Using the elements of good communities that were identified in
Workshop 1 as a starting point, participants collaborated in six
groups to plan their ideal community in a hands-on planning
exercise. First, Castle & Cooke’s planning consultants presented
information on demographic and site factors that will affect the
design and uses within Koa Ridge (see Planning Considerations
on page 3). Then, the groups used a kit of drafting tools to
express their visions for Koa Ridge graphically on a base map.
They established roadway alignments, identified areas for higher
density housing and selected locations for schools, parks,
recreation centers, commercial areas, park and rides, churches,
daycare centers and community centers. To help organize and
frame their development of a vision, the groups considered the
following questions:
•
•
•
•
•
How do we create a unique community identity?
How do we create gathering places?
What distinguishes Koa Ridge from Mililani, Waikele, Waipio?
How do we capitalize on the surrounding gulches?
How do we minimize the impact of the automobile?
Encourage walking?
(Continued on page 2)
PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS
Co-locate school, park, recreation center
The “partners in planning” had to take into consideration a number
of factors when designing their vision for Koa Ridge—demographic
trends, physical features of the site, existing and committed land uses
and how new land uses should be distributed. Prior to the planning
exercise, planning consultants Mark Hastert and Bob Odermatt
reviewed the following factors with the participants:
Design in progress
IDEAS EMERGE FOR
•
KOA RIDGE PLANNING
• Between 1990 and 2000, Hawaii experienced a declining
growth rate, with Oahu experiencing a greater decline than
the state at large.
Hands-on workshop results in alternative visions
( Co n t i n u e d f r o m p a g e 1 )
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
How do we encourage the use of transit through design?
What facilities/amenities will support a multi-generational
community?
What types of housing are appropriate for older residents?
Should we consider mixing uses?
Can new technology and the web create a more closely
tied community?
How do we best interface with the Pacific Health Center
(PHC)?
What do we provide for a better educated population?
• The 20-30 year old population dropped markedly between 1990
and 2000 due to out-migration of young adults to the mainland.
Historically, this age bracket would have made up a notable
portion of Central Oahu’s future housing market.
• The percentage of older adults (“baby boomers” and above) in
Hawaii is growing faster than the U.S. average due to the outmigration of youth and the long life span of its residents.
Drafting Tools
• Median family incomes on Oahu rose significantly between
1990 and 2000, from about $40,000 to about $60,000.
•
The groups also expressed their ideas in written form and used
images of existing places in other communities to supplement
their plans.
Trails and parks along
gulches
Market Realities — Demographic trends show a generally older
population with generally higher incomes.
• 1,200 acres (about one-third the size of Mililani Town and
Mililani Mauka together).
Open space (park) entry
feature.
At the end of the exercise, representatives of each group
described their plans and visions to the larger group. While all
the plans had some elements in common with the others, each
group saw unique opportunities for Koa Ridge (see The Results
on insert). Most groups included a “signature element” in their
designs, such as health and wellness focus; park/open space
entrance feature at the new Koa Ridge interchange; bicycle/
pedestrian accessibility throughout site and connecting to
other communities; village gathering place; creating a small
town feeling; and clustering schools, parks and rec centers.
Castle & Cooke’s planners will review the ideas from Workshop 2
and come up with several alternatives that incorporate and build
on those ideas. They will present these alternatives in Workshop
3 and seek feedback from the visioning process participants.
Site Characteristics
• Accessible from existing Ka Uka Boulevard and a future
interchange where Koa Ridge Mauka and Koa Ridge Makai
meet the H-2 Freeway.
• Surrounded by open space in the form of gulches.
• Average slope over length of site of 3-1/2%, which is very
walkable and bikeable.
•
Committed Land Uses
• Pacific Health Center to occupy 210 acres at the makai end of
Koa Ridge Makai. Campus to include hospital, physician’s
offices, research facilities, Alzheimer’s center, long-term care
facilities and more.
•
Land Uses to be Included in Plan – The expected number of
residential units (6,000-7,500) and population (about 18,000)
over the 30-year development period warrant the following land
uses:
• Parks/Recreation Centers – Total of about 30 acres to fulfill City
and County requirements, including 5-acre neighborhood parks
and 10-acre community parks. In addition, three 3-acre
recreation centers would be provided.
• Schools – 2 elementary schools (12 acres), 1 middle school (18
acres) and portion of 1 high school (50 acres) required to serve
Koa Ridge. High school to also serve region (including Gentry
Waiawa development) and could be located outside Koa Ridge
property.
Presenting the plan
“Main Street” retail with
continuous bike/pedestrian path
Developing a vision
Page 2 | VISIONING NEWSLETTER | VOLUME I, ISSUE II | APRIL 2003
• Commercial/Retail areas – Total of about 24 acres, which
could include a range of commercial areas from 2-acre
neighborhood convenience centers up to 10-acre community
shopping centers.
Gathering place with schools and
rec centers close to park
High School partnership with PHC
VISIONING NEWSLETTER | VOLUME I, ISSUE II | APRIL 2003 | Page 3