Hawaii Community Development Authority holds public hearing on Kalaeloa master plan and rule changes

HONOLULU — The Hawaiʻi Community Development Authority (HCDA) held a public hearing Sept. 3 to present proposed amendments to the Kalaeloa Master Plan and the Kalaeloa Community Development District administrative rules and to collect public testimony. The authority did not take formal action at the hearing; a decision-making hearing is scheduled for Nov. 5, 2025, and written comments are being accepted through Sept. 16, 2025.

HCDA Chair Sterling Higa opened the hearing at 9 a.m. at the American Brewery Building and on Zoom. Ryan Tam, HCDA director of planning and development, told the authority the draft amendments are intended to clarify and streamline land-use permitting in Kalaeloa, establish a new district for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, add special overlay zones to promote a Main Street character along Saratoga Avenue and to protect and interpret historic resources in the Ewa Plain battlefield, and align local rules with city and county definitions on items such as floor area and off-street parking.

Why it matters: HCDA staff said the changes aim to make regulatory outcomes more predictable for developers and residents while incorporating updated cultural- and climate-related policies. The draft also updates development intensity rules, revises permit thresholds, and proposes infrastructure work HCDA says is needed to support future growth in Kalaeloa.

Key changes described by staff - Zoning and density: The draft replaces some parcel-based controls with four transit-oriented typologies (t2–t5). Tam said the typologies use floor-area ratio (FAR) to regulate building mass: t2 (rural) FAR about 0.35, t3 (mixed use) FAR 1.5, t4 (general urban) FAR 2.5…