Draft environmental review for Mililani teacher housing draws traffic, funding questions

The State School Facilities Authority (SFA) on Wednesday presented a draft environmental assessment for a teacher workforce housing project at Mililani High School and invited public comment ahead of a Feb. 23 deadline.

SFA deputy and project lead Sherry Nakamura told the Mililani Waipio Mele Manu Neighborhood Board the draft EA was published in the Environmental Notice on Jan. 23 and that electronic and hard copies are available for review. "A final EA will be published after public comments are reviewed and addressed," Nakamura said.

The project team — including nonprofit developer Pacific Housing and consultant PBR Hawaii — described the preferred site access off Meheula Parkway and said the Transportation Impact Assessment Report appended to the EA recommends stop‑sign control at the project driveway because traffic volumes do not warrant a signal. Lacey Shimabukuro, Pacific Housing's representative, described use of an existing curb cut between the U.S. Postal Service and Anania Drive and said the design calls for two lanes at the entrance: one inbound and one outbound, with exiting vehicles allowed to turn left or right.

Residents and board members urged the team for more granular traffic counts at a nearby u‑turn used to access the post office and questioned whether that movement and additional parking demand — the EA notes a possible 280 residents — had been fully accounted for. Vincent Shigekuni, a PBR Hawaii preparer, said traffic counts were taken at five Meheula Parkway intersections at the request of state DOT and city DTS but acknowledged there was not a separate count specifically at the u‑turn.

Community members also pressed for clearer estimates of project cost and infrastructure funding. One participant said, "Cost of this project is now $80,000,000, and that's today's dollars," while SFA officials confirmed the authority received a $2,000,000 appropriation last year for predevelopment work and said the legislature provided additional funds that altered site feasibility. SFA and the project team said detailed infrastructure costs — including sewer‑connection estimates referenced in public comments — remain under review.

On timing, Nakamura said, "If everything goes well, we expect the construction to be completed in 2029." She also urged residents to submit written comments during the 30‑day review period; the board agreed to consolidate questions and send a letter from the neighborhood board before the EA comment deadline.

The presentation was held as a monthly report; the board did not vote on the project. The neighborhood board chair asked members to email any remaining questions so they could be included in a letter to SFA, PBR and Pacific Housing prior to the public comment cutoff on Feb. 23.