OHA adds Kakaʻako Makai residential framework to 2025 legislative package after public testimony

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Jan. 9 to add a proposal for a Hawaii Community Development Authority framework for residential development in portions of Kakaʻako Makai to OHA’s 2025 legislative package.

The addition, listed as action item BAE 25-03 and recommended by the Committee on Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment, follows an informational community meeting the night before and two public testifiers at the board meeting. Trustees said the public session improved transparency but heard recurring concerns about soil contamination and sea-level rise that they want addressed as the bill moves through the Legislature.

Trustee Galuteria, chair of the Committee on Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment, read the committee recommendation to the full board. After public testimony, the motion was placed on the table, seconded, and approved in a roll-call vote that produced nine "aye" votes.

Several trustees urged OHA staff to assemble technical information to support the legislative proposal. Chairperson Kahele said the community meeting allowed OHA to present its "vision and intent" before the legislative session and that "the transparency...was received very, very well." He and other trustees suggested OHA obtain initial environmental information, including an environmental conditions assessment and a sea-level-rise analysis, to respond to community concerns as the bill advances.

Two members of the public testified on the item. One identified herself as Doreen Myers and said she is "an OHA beneficiary" and a Nanakuli Hawaiian homestead resident. Myers said she supports OHA’s vision for workforce housing in Kakaʻako Makai, calling "the new vision of a workforce housing, with 50 plus 1, affordable is amazing," and added that communities elsewhere on Oʻahu already contend with waste, wastewater, and industrial impacts. Her remarks stressed that potential climate and contamination impacts are regional and affect other neighborhoods as well.

An environmental scientist who identified himself as "Klaus Redbrief" testified for Aloha Onipaʻa (transcribed as a local group). He urged trustees to review the legal filing his group provided opposing the proposed development and said the project "does not provide sustainable development defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of our wise future generations to meet their own needs." Redbrief summarized projections and studies cited at the meeting, including NOAA estimates and prior academic work, warning that with continued warming and sea-level rise, drainage and sewage systems along Ala Moana Boulevard could become nonfunctional.

Trustees noted prior studies were referenced during the public meeting and public comments — including an earlier hazardous-contaminant study and sea-level-rise work — and discussed whether OHA already holds internal reports. Trustee comments suggested commissioning or assembling an initial environmental-conditions assessment within a near-term timeframe (trustees discussed a 60–90 day window) and producing summary materials for legislative colleagues ahead of critical crossover dates.

Trustees and staff also discussed coordinating with other landholders and community partners. Trustee Galuteria and others suggested convening landowners and stakeholders — which trustees said may include Kamehameha Schools and other major holders — to continue the dialogue and present the same informational materials shared at the public session.

The board approved the item by roll call. The motion recorded in the meeting packet was read by the committee and recommended to the full board as action item BAE 25-03: "Approval of an addition to the 2025 OHA legislative package relating to Hawaii Community Development Authority framework for residential development in portions of Kakaʻako Makai." The motion was put forward by Trustee Galuteria, seconded (name not specified on the record), and the roll call returned nine "aye" votes; no "no" or abstentions were recorded.

OHA staff and trustees said they will continue to brief the board on legislative strategy and indicated staff would try to assemble the technical information requested so trustees can share it with legislators and stakeholders as the bill proceeds through the 2025 session.

Less-critical meeting business that day included other agenda items and announcements about OHA’s budget briefings at the State Capitol and future board meetings.