IMPORTANT DATES:

IMPORTANT DATES:

Monday, August 1, 2011

Star Advertiser - article

(please note our corrections/comments in RED per conversations, meetings, & facts we have collected)
July 31, 2011

A new emerging Kailua town

Anchor tenants Target and Whole Foods Market are part of a contemporary-looking redevelopment

Some major new developments are blowing into Kailua town as construction continues for two major new anchors: Target and Whole Foods Market.

What once used to be a sleepy beach town (population: 55,000) with clusters of old, single-story buildings is now being redeveloped into a newer, more contemporary-looking destination — with an artsy touch.

Opportunities for redevelopment have arisen in the last five to six years as the land leases for 16 acres of land came up, according to Mitch D'Olier, CEO of Kaneohe Ranch Co., which manages property for the Castle family trust.

"There's improvement and investment replacing blight, and there's modern, energy-efficient facilities replacing 50-year-old buildings that have gone through their useful life," he said. "We've been doing improvements on a project-by-project basis pursuant to the community-based plan we did in 2003 and 2004."
Those plans are being carried out, according to D'Olier.

Fast-forward to 2011, and that means a brand-new building to house Whole Foods Market, along with smaller retailers.

It's all part of Kailua Town Center Phase III (how many more phases do we need?), which is right in the heart of town at Kailua Road and Hinano Way.

Whole Foods Market will measure about 32,000 square feet, and is expected to open in early 2012 between Longs Drugs and Mike McKenna's Windward Ford dealership.

Another 8,000 square feet of retail space is included for smaller retailers. Executive Chef, a local retailer offering high-end cookware and gourmet food, will open a brand-new store at the corner next to McKenna's, while fashion boutique Fighting Eel will occupy space next door to Longs.

What used to be a collection of smaller buildings measuring 70,000 square feet at the site was consolidated to 40,000 square feet in the new building. Parking spaces increased to 209 stalls, up from 167 (a good handful of stalls will be used by the many employees that will be working in the Whole Foods store and little "boutiques" -- So, we aren't gaining many more stalls, are we?).

Just a block away, Target is also being built (not until they get their demolition and building permit!) behind a construction fence at the former Don Quijote site. Target is expected to open a 130,000-square-foot store (including a stockroom) in mid- to late 2012.

Walk around Kailua town with D'Olier, and he'll point out all the ways the place has become more pedestrian-friendly (did he attempt to cross the roads and experience how dangerous this "pedestrian-friendly" town he has created is actually working; or did he mainly just point with fingers?).

The new Whole Foods offers outdoor dining and a shaded walkway above the public sidewalk that will make it easier for pedestrians to travel. A new sidewalk has gone in alongside the parking garage behind Longs Drugs.

Hinano Way, next to the new Whole Foods Market, will now connect Kailua Road to Hekili Street, home to a few new restaurants as well, including the relocated Boots & Kimo's. (adding chaotic mess to the already big traffic problem we are dealing with in Kailua Town)

D'Olier also points with pride at the mosaic art pieces that tie the newer buildings together with the fountain plaza near California Pizza Kitchen. Besides a "living wall," which is basically a garden on a wall, a stone sculpture designed by local artists representing a mo'o, or gecko, will flank the entrance to the new Whole Foods Market fronting Kailua Road.

While Target was welcomed with wide-open arms in communities like Salt Lake and Kapolei, several opposition groups formed in Kailua when the Minneapolis chain struck a deal to take over the Don Quijote lease.

Groups like Keep It Kailua and Choose Kailua started petitions and showed up to protest at public meetings, saying a big-box, mainland retail chain just doesn't belong in Kailua.

Their concerns: mainly traffic and competition for existing small businesses. (and Mitch couldn't explain how he is going to fix these problems??)

Before Don Quijote there was Daiei, and before Daiei there was Holiday Mart, so all along, said D'Olier, "it's been large-format merchandise through that period of time. It was zoned at the time Target bought the site." (Daiei was locally owned!  ...and was less than 90,000 sq ft; not like Target 130,000 sq ft!)

Kailua is still home to a collection (why only a "collection"?  why not more?) of small, locally owned boutique shops, including surf shops, arts galleries and BookEnds, one of the few independent bookstores that still exist on the island.

Many of the businesses are relocated due to new developments, while others, like the popular Brent's Deli, became history (So sad.  We miss you Brent's!).

Still, no changes have been made to Kailua's 40-foot height limit. (and it better stay that way!!!)

There are still remnants of the old Kailua, including Pali Lanes, a dated bowling alley on Hekili Street, which will exist side by side with the newer, more contemporary-looking Kailua. (...this is one of the only "old" Kailua structures that has/will be standing in Kailua, all others has been either facelifted, or demolished -- very sad.  Mitch says that hes keeping the "character" of Kailua Town.  How is this possible if all hes tearing all the buildings down?)

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Kailua Neighborhood Board Meeting

Thursday, August 4th
7:00pm
Kailua District Park (Multi-Purpose Building)
21 S. Kainalu Drive

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Hamakua Drive

Have you been noticing the changes on Hamakua Drive?
  • TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS at Hamakua & Hekili St. intersection (near Foodland) are numerous! - -after tracking over a year, traffic has been getting progressively worse to the point there have been accidents occuring "on a weekly basis"  -- and this is BEFORE the opening of Whole Foods OR Target!!
  • Enterprise Rent-a-Car and Twogood Kayak & Canoes have both relocated to Hamakua Drive from their long-established Daiei / DonQuijote location -- with more cars entering & exiting driveways on Hamakua, be CAREFUL -- We must slow down or Go Down!
  • Where have our farm animals gone?? Is it really true that their 50-year(?) lease expired and was NOT RENEWED by Kaneohe Ranch?  The area is now slated for HIKING TRAILS infringing on residents' privacy? -- hmmmm

Hundreds Welcome Hilo Target

http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/sections/news/local-news/hundreds-welcome-hilo-target.html
yet the article DOES NOT (and of course would not) write to the negative impacts.  Scroll down to read community feedback -- people are AKAMAI to the detrimental ramifications Big Boxes bring!

Comments posted on July 20th & 21st:
  • "i live in the mainland. I do not wanna come back to home town of hilo and see a damn TARGET!"
  • "Walmart already closed down the "mom and pop" stores in East Hawaii. At least now they will have some healthy competition with Target. Walmart has been ripping off East Hawaii for too long. -- Oh, and the jobs Target is going to provide may be desperately needed...but guess what?? The wages are still keeping people as "working poor" and living in poverty. These are not real jobs...."
  • "The new jobs created by the Target store will be offset by the loss of jobs elsewhere as competitors trim back employees due to new competion and small stores go belly up.  Overall, it can mean a net loss of jobs due to economy of scale. -- Target will offer much better shopping experiences to people who like cheap stuff, but it's not any particular benefit to the community other than than servicing that market."
  • "The Good ---- Brings in "jobs" that hilo desperately needs !
    The Bad ---- One step closer to becoming like "mainland" . Shuts down "mom and pops" stores cause they cant compete against "big name" stores ."
  • I don't "do" Target no's mo's!     
    Target Homophobia? CEO Gregg Steinhafel Defends $150K Donation To Anti-Gay Politician, LGBT Community Angered
  • Target Boycott Movement Grows Following Donation to Support "Antigay" Candidate
  • Target's $150,000 Donation To Fund Anti-Gay Politics Lady Gaga axing Target deal over anti-gay donations

3-Talk meeting

Tuesday, July 28th
7:00pm
St. John Lutheran Church (1004 Kailua Road)
District 3’s City Council Member, Ikaika Anderson, will be holding his 3-TALK meeting.  These meetings allow anyone to personally ask questions, comment, voice concerns, etc. to our own City Council Member.  Our community needs to continue to raise questions and concerns to Ikaika about the future development of Kailua!!!

StarAdvertiser-article

July 20, 2011
 
Kawainui Marsh restoration planned
 
By Gary T. Kubota
 
State and federal officials have formed a partnership to restore a portion of the 800-acre Kawainui Marsh in Kailua — the habitat for four endangered water birds.
The agreement on the Kawainui Marsh Environmental Restoration Project, signed Friday, will help the endangered koloa maoli, or Hawaiian duck; aeo, or Hawaiian stilt; alae ula, or Hawaiian moorhen; and alae keokeo, or Hawaiian coot.
The 37.8-acre project also calls for increasing the endangered bird population, creating more scenic open space, reducing upland runoff into coastal reefs and removing alien weeds from the marsh. State officials said the project's cost will range from $4 million to $6 million, with the federal government paying 75 percent of the cost and the state the remainder.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be responsible for the contracting and construction of the project, which is expected to start this year or next.
Laura Stevens, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said the project will serve as the foundation for educational, environmental, cultural, recreational, community and volunteer efforts to restore the wildlife habitat in the marsh. Stevens said that without restoration the marsh will remain in a state of degradation with little value for wildlife and community use.
Work on the project will include the development of 11 terraced shallow ponds on 24 acres, an earthen berm system accessible by light-duty maintenance vehicles, and a system suppling water to the ponds using two solar-powered well pumps and water-level control structures.
Kawainui Marsh was an inland sea about 4,000 years ago, according to scientists, but soil runoff and an accumulation of sand formed a sandbar that eventually became Kailua town and Coconut Grove.
State officials said the project implements portions of wildlife habitat restoration in the 1994 Kawainui Marsh Master and Hawaii Endangered Waterbird Recovery plans.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Midweek - article

(please note our corrections/comments in RED per conversations, meetings, & facts we have collected)

June 15, 2011

Listening To The Land

Mitch D’Olier of Kaneohe Ranch is sprucing up Kailua town, not always to the liking of some residents, but he says he follows one guiding principle: Listen to the land  


By Chad Pata

Mitch D’Olier has a vision for Kailua town, and is guided by advice his old friend Kenny Brown once gave him.

Through his first nine years as president of Kaneohe Ranch, Mitch D’Olier had been beset by criticisms that he and his company were trying to change the very nature of Kailua. (ask yourself, has Kailua changed in the last nine years?) Whether it was the three-story parking structure behind Longs or the new Target on Hahani Street, it seemed clear to a small, vocal contingent that D’Olier is out to destroy everything that makes Kailua Kailua.

But from D’Olier’s perspective, he came to the helm at a time when change was going to happen regardless, (but what type of change is the issue at hand?  Small, local businesses and parks, or mainland big-box stores?) and he wanted to do what was best to revitalize downtown Kailua while keeping its small town charm.

“When I joined Kaneohe Ranch, 16 of the 45 acres in Kailua owned by Kaneohe Ranch were coming off of 55-year leases that were ending,” says D’Olier, who ran Victoria Ward prior to coming over the Pali.

“When a lease ends, you get back a pretty old, tired 50-year-old building that, no matter what you have done to try to have the tenant maintain it, won’t have been maintained like you would have maintained it. That was going to cause change, and that is the context for this.” (how do you know the new tenants will maintain the property any better? --Hence the 6 month old hanging blue tarp in Longs.  And, why wasn't this enforced with the previous tenants?)

The properties it was taking over had all been built before regulations were in place concerning zoning and parking, leaving a heavily used shopping area with a dearth of parking and a brand new drug store and Whole Foods slated to move in, adding to the problem.

The fix was to be a simple one: a three-story structure built in-block so it wouldn’t even be visible once the surrounding buildings were completed, and with the construction of Longs nearing completion, a decision had to be made.

“We didn’t have a lot of time. Longs said, ‘Build it now or don’t build it, we can’t operate a store while you’re building a structure,’” recalls D’Olier. “So we didn’t have the luxury of taking the time in the community to prepare the community. And there was a lot of hue and cry in the community, and that made me realize that we have a lot of communication to do.”

So Kaneohe Ranch set up an 18-month community planning process, holding six four-hour meetings in the Kailua Intermediate School cafeteria to get input from residents on how they wanted the change to be realized. (this was in 2005 -- needs/ideas change since then)

“We appreciate the continued input we have gotten from everybody, and we try to listen and we are always open to ideas and comments,” says D’Olier, who has lived in Hawaii for the past 40 years (but not in Kailua). “Understand that the context for a lot of this is the termination of a lot of leases, and that is going to drive a lot of change just by reason of itself and that, as a community, let’s just try to do our best going forward.”

One of the big ones was preservation of Hamakua Hillside, the green ridge that serves as a backdrop for Kailua town. While a retirement community was once planned for those hills, Kaneohe Ranch is now working to sell the land back to the state so it can be used for public recreational use.

Two walkways are planned for the hills, one by the stream and one going up the ridge, providing yet another way for Kailua residents to stay in shape while enjoying their environment (along with renting bicycles and those ugly Rent-a-bike stands).

“A friend of mine named Kenny Brown told me you have to let the land tell you what it wants to be,” says D’Olier, who received his law degree from the University of Iowa. “You really have to get in touch with the land, and he was exactly right about that.” (so how has he "listened to the land")

As part of D’Olier’s expressed desire to invigorate Kailua came the idea of the Kailua Night Market. He approached the Department of Agriculture and the crew from Kapiolani Community College Farmers Market, and they came up with the Thursday night concept, housed in the new parking structure to prevent rainouts and add to the utility of the building.

“I figured we could use the amenity, bring together farmers and local residents and get people to stay downtown at night,” says D’Olier, who claims there were 3,000 people on the first night and that they are still drawing more than 1,500 every week.

“It brought the community together. A lot of social capital develops from people being together in places, and there are all kinds of people I see every Thursday in the farmers market who I might not otherwsieever see.”
Kaneohe Ranch has been part of this community dating back to 1893, when it actually was a ranch, and has evolved as the Windward side has, changing from farming to land holding as the Wilson Tunnel and Pali Highway brought a new population to Kailua. Through the changes, it has maintained certain philosophies that are readily evident when you walk around the new Kailua Town Center.

First is a commitment to art. Throughout the center you will find murals, fountains and mosaics that are required by the very tenets of the company. As a nod to Harold Castle’s affinity for dogs, there is even a dog water fountain street-side of the Whole Foods building.

One also will notice the oversized, shaded sidewalks, meant to entice people to get out of their cars. For D’Olier, a big part of keeping the small town feel is having pedestrians rather than drivers. (have you ever tried to cross the street in Kailua lately?) 

“Now my job is how to bring these businesses in and keep the character of a small place, and that is the fun of my job - things like public art, dog fountains and the Hamakua Nature Walk,” he says. (how is he "keeping the character" if he is tearing down all the old buildings?)

But it is not all fun. The other controversy D’Olier has been battling has been the Target store. Opponents have even gone so far as to create a website to post concerns over jobs being taken, small businesses being run out of town and traffic bringing the city to a screeching halt.

The uproar leaves D’Olier scratching his head a bit. For starters, Kaneohe Ranch didn’t recruit Target. Target actually came and purchased the lease from Don Quijote all on its own. Secondly, it is simply replacing one big super store with a newer, nicer super store.

“With Target, it seemed to be Big Box hatred, though the box isn’t much bigger than Holiday Mart was before,” says D’Olier. “I was surprised by the vehemence of the Target thing. Some of it was corporate hate, and some of it was hatred of national brand names.

“Even though we already had a Macy’s and a Longs and a Starbucks, they didn’t want any national names and just as soon preferred I took all the national names out and started all over again. So our question was: What works? Should we be in retail at all or should it be all offices?”

Now that the traffic fears have been allayed, construction has begun with the store due to open in July of next year. (if they get their permit)

As a show of its commitment to the community, Target Foundation rebuilt the library at Blanche Pope Elementary School from the ground up. New white smart boards were installed, new computers sit atop the desks and 2,000 new volumes of books were brought in. (Target does this everywhere in the US.  They buy peoples happiness)

“They are trying to create a love of reading with all children,” says D’Olier, who moved here from the south side of Chicago. “Literacy is something that Target is all about nationally. They told me they were community guys, but I never thought anything like that would come about that fast.” (because so many of us are so unhappy)

D’Olier also likes to point out that Target was going to be built somewhere on the Windward side and people are going to shop there regardless. Keeping it in Kailua will bring more dollars to the town and to the peripheral shops around it. (how is a mainland store keeping "more dollars" in the town?  The money spent goes to the coporate headquarters in Minneapolis)

Despite all the criticisms he has had to endure in the job, D’Olier still looks at it as the best thing that could have happened for him.

“I was asked to take the job as president of Kaneohe Ranch at the same time as I was asked to take the job as president of the Harold Castle Foundation,” says D’Olier.

“The combination of the two - the chance to really try to give back to the community and make the philanthropy more effective to the benefit of all of Hawaii’s people and to build assets for this place - that was an opportunity unlike any I had ever seen, and it has turned out to be as rewarding as I thought it would be.”

D’Olier met his wife Bambi while in school at the University of Iowa. After graduating they came to visit Oahu and he immediately fell in love with the Islands. Bambi agreed to move out here for one year - 40 years ago. A lawyer by trade, he worked in processing transactions between companies for 19 years, making him the natural choice when Hawaiian Airlines needed a new man to help them out of the financial wilderness.

This led him to Victoria Ward where he spent nine years before joining Kaneohe Ranch in 2002.

While the company does keep him busy, recreational diving is the family hobby, though the new grandkids have made Disneyland much more of a destination than the Great Barrier Reef for the foreseeable future.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Hawaii Business - article

May 2011

 

Big Box Stores

Just What Shoppers Want or Just Plain Evil?

Monday, May 2, 2011

Kailua Neighborhood Board Meeting

Thursday, May 5th
7:00pm
Kailua District Park (Multi-Purpose Building)
21 S. Kainalu Drive


Tuesday, April 12, 2011

3-TALK meeting

Tuesday, April 12th
7:00pm
St. John Lutheran Church (1004 Kailua Road)

District 3’s City Council Member, Ikaika Anderson, will be holding his 3-TALK meeting.  These meetings allow anyone to personally ask questions, comment, voice concerns, etc. to our own City Council Member.  Our community needs to continue to raise questions and concerns to Ikaika about the future development of Kailua!!!

Future 3-talk meetings:
Tuesday, May 17
Waimanalo Public Library (41-1320 Kalanianaole Hwy.)

Tuesday, June 7
Kaneohe Community & Senior Center (45-613 Puohala Street)

Monday, April 4, 2011

Continued Call Out

Please E-mail or call Transportation Director (and related City officials) with a request for the City to complete a comprehensive traffic plan for Kailua prior to any major building permit being issued.  Your e-mail or call should be sooner, rather than later.

Copy from the following text, or refer to the attached information and write your own sentiment.  If you agree Kailua needs a  comprehensive traffic study and plan based on carrying capacities of our streets and intersections, please incorporate the first underlined phase:
As a city taxpayer and resident, I request that the City and County Department of Planning and Permitting defer any major permit for construction in Kailua until a comprehensive traffic study is completed.  The baseline study should be funded by the City’s Department of Transportation Services, and document current volume and projected future traffic volume and its impact upon the Kailua community from: Castle Medical Center to Kalaheo Avenue; from Keolu Drive to downtown Kailua; and from Mokapu Boulevard to downtown Kailua.

Justification:
Kailua town is essentially located on an island created by the marshes, streams and ocean that border Kailua.  One of eight bridges must be crossed to get to Kailua’s town center.  Increased traffic to Kailua from known proposed projects (Target projects 20% increase in traffic to their site; a future 153 unit condominium complex is pending on a neighboring parcel; traffic from the soon to be completed Whole Foods store and retail shops at Kaneohe Ranch’s “Phase III development”; and an anticipated increase of 2,000 military and dependents at Kaneohe Marine Corp Base Hawaii) will not be eased by adding a turn lane or stop light in front of the Target property.  It is incumbent upon our government agencies to conduct the planning function – not only the permitting function. The City has a responsibility to balance community infrastructure and function against private, for-profit enterprise.

INCLUDE YOUR NAME.
E-mail is very effective.  Cut and paste the above (with your name) and send to:

(complete list of email and phone numbers are listed in the "contacts" link on the right)
Wayne Yoshioka: City Transportation Director
wyoshioka@honolulu.gov
Mel Hirayama: Traffic Review Branch
mhirayama@honolulu.gov
David Tanoue: Department of Planning and Permitting (Director)
dtanoue@honolulu.gov
Peter Carlisle: Honolulu Mayor
mayor@honolulu.gov

Copy your elected representatives so they know what issues their constituents care about in Kailua: 
Ikaika Anderson:City Council Member, District 3 (Waimanalo, Kailua, and most of Kane'ohe)
ianderson@honolulu.gov
Please copy ALL councilmembers:  tberg@honolulu.govemartin@honolulu.govschang@honolulu.gov ; akobayashi@honolulu.gov ; tgabbard@honolulu.gov ; rcachola@honolulu.gov ; bharimoto@honolulu.gov ; ngarcia@honolulu.gov


Jill Tokuda: 24th Senatorial District (Kane'ohe - including KCAB; Kailua, Enchanted Lake)
sentokuda@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Pono Chong: 49th Representative District (Maunawili, Olomana, Enchanted Lake, Kāne'ohe)
repchong@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Cynthia Thielen: 50th Representative District (Kailua, Kāne'ohe Bay)
repthielen@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Chris Lee: 51st Representative District (Lanikai, Waimānalo)
repclee@Capitol.hawaii.gov


Please pass on to others.   We already live with the repercussions of bad planning in our City and town daily; having more inadequately planned development in Kailua will affect our daily lives.

traffic study event timeline

May 2010 - Target informed residents at community meeting Traffic Study would be submitted over the summer - NEVER HAPPENED

-- Six(6) months later  --

Nov. 20, 2010 - Target rep told community members (at Target's Open House, Kailua Elementary) their Traffic Study had been submitted -- UNTRUE

Dec. 14, 2010 - per DPP, no Traffic Study received yet from Target

Jan. 25, 2011 - per DPP, Traffic Study? - none received yet

Feb. 17, 2011 - still, no Traffic Study

March 15, 2011 - per DPP, a Draft Traffic Study received --  unresolved issues -- Draft returned to Target & their traffic consultant, with request to revise & resubmit

April 1, 2011 - City reviewing Traffic Study which still has traffic issues Target must address -- Target

Friday, April 1, 2011

Kailua Neighborhood Board Meeting

Thursday, April 7th
7:00pm
Kailua District Park (Multi-Purpose Building)
21 S. Kainalu Drive

City Department of Transporation Director, Wayne Yoshioka, WILL ATTEND our upcoming Kailua NB meeting to discuss TRAFFIC  ISSUES  IN  KAILUA!!

Great follow-up opportunity for 'community members' as well as our KNB who have for months now, requested a COMPREHENSIVE Traffic Impact Analysis for ALL of Kailua!  Without one, the stakes are extremely high that Kailua will face irreversible impairment in the future!

Please, we encourage you to attend the Kailua Neighborhood Board meeting and bring your traffic concerns and MORE!

Mahalo!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Kailua Neighborhood Board Meeting

 Thursday, March 3rd
7:00pm
Kailua District Park (Multi-Purpose Building)
21 S. Kainalu Drive

We encourage you to attend this meeting!  We must continue to voice our concerns at these monthly meetings.  Add your name to the "Neighborhood Concerns" list, or email NB chair Chuck Prentiss: prentissc001@hawaii.rr.com

Monday, February 28, 2011

The White House-message

...so we ask, why Target?

-----------------------------
The White House Blog on Small Business
"President Obama is committed to helping small business succeed"

--- On Thu, 2/24/11, Austan Goolsbee, The White House info@messages.whitehouse.gov wrote:

Good Afternoon,
Did you know that small businesses are the backbone of our economy, creating two out of every three new jobs in America?

President Obama is committed to helping small businesses succeed by making America the best place in the world to do business. He has signed into law 17 new tax cuts for small businesses. He launched the National Wireless Initiative to help bring high-speed wireless Internet access to 98 percent of Americans. And he launched Startup America, an initiative to celebrate, inspire and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the nation.

It's also important to take the time to listen to folks on the ground about the challenges they face every day. That's why we went to Cleveland this week to talk directly with small business owners, and it's why your "Advise the Advisor" feedback is so important.

If we out-innovate, out-educate and out-build our global competitors, the future is ours to win. That's a challenge that we will tackle together, and I look forward to the work ahead.

Sincerely,

Austan Goolsbee
Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers


P.S.  To find out when the next "Advise the Advisor" opportunity is posted, sign up for the Daily Snapshot email: http://www.whitehouse.gove/daily-snapshot

----------------------------
--- On Fri, 2/25/11, Kailua Resident wrote:

Mr. Goolsbee,

I received your e-mail and video visit from President Obama regarding small businesses.  You may not be aware we who live in Kailua, O'ahu, Hawai'i are in a battle to save our Town from the extinction of small businesses.  Plans are in the works for Target, a big box store to build very soon.  The property was sold by Kaneohe Ranch Land, the largest  business properties landowner of Kailua.  I am so disappointed knowing it will be the end of some small "Mom and Pop" stores which gives our Town a uniqueness and individuality. We are becoming "Any Town U.S.A."  I know it's happening on the mainland too.  Someone is allowing the big box stores to rule the country(world).   Save our "Mom and Pop" stores!!! They are definitely the backbone of the world. Allow them to thrive and continue to be creative and keep the entrepreneurial spirit in us!  We don't need to keep the wealth only amongst  a few and the rest of us working for them.  In fact I would say that the majority of the  small businesses are happy with their earnings, that they don't expect to become another conglomerate or big box store.  Just give them the financial breaks to survive and take care
of their family.  There are big box stores in Hawai'i so it's not like we don't have a choice whether to shop there or not, just help us to keep our "Mom and Pop" stores too.


Mahalo for your time and consideration,
Helen T. W.


---------------------------
Additional links:

President Obama speaks -- Online Forum on Small Business (video):

Here's the website:

Monday, February 14, 2011

MORE tour buses

How many MORE tour buses does Kailua Town really need??

Were you aware that Kaneohe Ranch is behind the influx of all those large motorcoaches we've seen meandering through our residential streets?  We see them on Mokapu Boulevard, Oneawa Street, Kalāheo Avenue, throughout Kailua Town and Lanikai.  We see them squeezing through the Macy's/Long's parking lot, and Kailua Beach parking lots where they can be found reversing and parking in public AUTOMOBILE parking spaces; thereby forcing all of us off the road to manuver around the protruding behemoths.

We love and appreciate our tourists!  And we continue to welcome them on our CITY BUSES.  This is revenue for our government.  It is WRONG that a private entity as Kaneohe Ranch -- motivated by MONEY can wreak so much havoc in our community.  We've had ENOUGH of Kaneohe Ranch!

Alas, Kaneohe Ranch is turning Kailua into a "mini-Waikīkī" tourist shopping destination -- that's why the increase from SIX to now EIGHT Waikīkī motorcoaches descending on our hometown EACH DAY!

Its time to STAND UP and FIGHT BACK.  Traffic backups, vehicular accidents, and pedestrian safety is compromised.  We say "Stop this NOW!"

Here are a couple photos of some tour buses (below) parking across multiple public automobile spaces.  This may work now, but with Whole Foods and all the other commercial development in the works, WHERE WILL THESE LARGE TOUR BUSES PARK?  What is Kaneohe Ranch planning next?  Kailua certainly does NOT NEED or WANT a Bus Transit Station!  (re: City's presentation at a recent Kailua Neighborhood Board meeting)





and look... one of the many tour VANS found around Kailua Town:



Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Trade Area Profile

Kaneohe Ranch once posed as a member of the Kailua Community. They funded a community survey ostensibly to determine residents’ desires for their community.  No surprise that one of the 2004 survey findings was 86% of the respondents stated Kailua had traffic congestion problems.   In February, 2005, KR presented their “Community Planning Process” to the Kailua Neighborhood Board: http://www.kaneoheranch.com/planning/group-70.cfm

The Sub-Themes promoted by Kaneohe Ranch, resulting from their survey and promotes as key to their redevelopment, included:
•            Residential character
•            Lively, not crowded
•            Central gathering place
•            Community friendly to small business           
•            Cultural stewardship
•            Historic continuity

Behind the scenes, Kaneohe Ranch developed a Trade Area Profile, identifying Kailua as within a 10-mile radius of 442,000 people -- while the Kailua zip code only holds 53,000 people!  KR has since pulled the document from their website, but we’ve got a copy for your reference.

click on image (partial report) to view larger

Sign Waving

THIS SATURDAY
February 19th
1:00pm-3:00pm
Hahani Road (sidewalk in front of Don Quijote)

We continue to ask for your time, help and support in this effort!  Please join this effort doing what you can -- if not sign-waving -- by emailing, calling, writing letters, etc.

Ask the MAYOR for a Comprehensive Traffic Study!



Past sign waving events in this month:

Saturday, February 12th
1:00 - 3:00pm

Saturday, February 5th
1:00pm - 3:00pm

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

new vs old

Have you seen it? Leaking roof of the NEW Kailua Longs Drugs building. It was built just 5 years ago! (Don Quijote was built 50 years ago) 

Since the last "big rain" in early JANUARY, on aisle 15, you can find big blue tarps hanging from the ceiling, funneling water from the leaky roof into a grey trash can on the store floor.

This Kailua Long's building was built in 2006, and just a few years later Long's management now deals with a leaky roof and a month later, still awaits repair work!

Leaky roofs, noticeable wear and tear, etc.  Such poor quality construction should not be occuring with newer buildings of our time.

Look at the multitute of older buildings around Kailua Town that are structurally sound, a bit tired-looking perhaps, but they still stand with dignified character and charm.  (ICONS like: Pali Lanes, Wallace Theater fronting Don Quijote, and the old Foodland store which currently houses the present Island Snow)  This is what Kailua must preserve! So why are these buildings being demolished and replaced by poor quality buildings like this NEW Longs? 

So the question is: Where will Longs Kailua be in 50 years?

 

Monday, February 7, 2011

Call the MAYOR


It is important that we all contact the MAYOR (ph #768-4141)

We need to hold the CITY responsible to conduct a Comprehensive Traffic Analysis for ALL of Kailua -- not just the roads fronting Don Quijote.  This traffic study should be funded strictly by the City, and NOT by a private entity!

The City failed to codify our completed Ko'olaupoko Sustainable Communities Plan into the Land Use Ordinance (even after repeated requests from our Neighborhood Board) since 1999.  The Ko'olaupoko Sustainable Communities Plan states: no big box stores in our community, and no store larger than 90,000 square feet! At 130,000 square feet, the Target store is larger than two football fields combined!

In the last few years, Kaneohe Ranch has developed a large area of Kailua Town which has brought in a significant amount of traffic.  With the development of the new Whole Foods building and the selling of the old Don Quijote property, how much more traffic can Kailua Town really take?

The City needs to look at Kailua's traffic problem BEFORE they issue any building permits for Target or for any other future development in Kailua Town!!!

television media coverage

Don Quijote in Kailua closing its doors for good
KHON2
http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/Don-Quijote-in-Kailua-closing-its-doors-for-good/10vkks8xJUWZifwrPUUZGA.cspx

Loyal customers turn out for Don Qujote's last day in Kailua
KFVE
http://www.k5thehometeam.com/Global/story.asp?S=13977429

Kailua Don Quijote Closes Doors
KITV
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41438165/ns/local_news-honolulu_hi/

Star Advertiser-article

February 6, 2011


Kailua laments the final day of Don Quijote

By Gordon Y.K. Pang

Kailua residents yesterday said goodbye to a family friend and lamented the loss of an era when their town was simpler and slower.

The Don Quijote department store's Kailua branch closed its doors for the final time last night, making way for a new Target store scheduled to open in July 2012.

A vocal segment of the Kailua community had raised strong objections to the big-box store's impending arrival. Last week, Target closed a deal to purchase the Hahani Street property from Kaneohe Ranch.

Yesterday's shoppers were more focused on the departure of a store that many felt had a small-neighborhood charm, despite having changed ownership and names several times. It is now owned by a Japanese department-store chain.

Maunawili resident Ken Sitch, 60, and his daughter Moani, 34, brought ti leaf lei in a show of appreciation for several of the clerks who have served them over the years.

Sitch said he had been shopping at the store for more than three decades and estimates that clerks "Doris, Tammy and Linda" have each worked there at least 20 years.

"I love the employees. They're wonderful, loving people," he said. "They took such great care of us."

Sitch said he will also miss the selection of Asian and local foods, including "stuff like chung choi," a type of pickled cabbage.

As for the arrival of a Target, Sitch said it's another step away from the Kailua of yesteryear.
"It's very touristy," he said. "Kailua's changed a lot. It's become more like the mainland or Waikiki."
Keolu Hills resident Pat Dilliner, 71, agreed.

"You can see what's happening to Kailua," she said. "It's becoming like another Waikiki, almost. But I guess if you have the money, you can do as you please."

Dilliner said she won't forget shopping at the then-Holiday Mart store in the 1970s when she turned her head and saw Elvis Presley, decked out completely in black, shopping with an entourage in tow in the music section.

He waved, but people were too polite to approach the superstar for a picture or autograph, she said.

"Everybody just stopped and watched him," she recalled.

Dilliner said she will also miss buying Asian gift items that can't be found elsewhere at reasonable prices, such as black lacquer bowls and bamboo products.

Pohakupu resident Keith Fujikawa, 41, said he has lived in Kailua all his life and has been going to what was once Holiday Mart, and then Daiei, and then Don Quijote nearly as long.

"There are a lot of things we really enjoy you don't find anywhere else," he said.

Fujikawa said he and his wife, Lisa, have been to Target at Salt Lake and expect to go to the Kailua Target once the Don Quijote is converted.

But Illinois native Lisa Fujikawa, 42, said, "It won't have the same community feel."

Don Quijote officials declined comment. They also asked reporters to stay out of the store and to not interview employees.

Arnold Aguilar, 48, a nurse at Castle Medical Center, had bought his lunch at Don Quijote nearly five days a week.

"I like their warm food," he said of their saba and salmon bentos in particular.

About 120 people worked at the store. An undisclosed number of them will be working at one of Don Quijote's three other Oahu locations.

Others have chosen to retire and some are being laid off.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Honolulu Weekly-letter to editor

February 2, 2011

Community First

Kaneohe Ranch has put great effort into portraying itself as a proper steward of its lands in Kailua–the only question is what constitutes “proper” stewardship [Cover story, Jan. 5: “Off Target”].

The ranch is marching forward with a strategy of maximizing profits from its land holdings in Kailua. Contrary to its goal, the ranch’s resulting impression is of a for-profit entity that says it cares about the Kailua community but acts with blatant disregard for the values and goals of the community.

The list of improper acts of stewardship committed by the ranch continues to grow: ignoring community input acquired in its own visioning process, disregarding the intent of the Ko’olaupoko Sustainable Communities Plan that says “no big box,” and trying to hide behind its tireless efforts to bring box to Kailua. This is not pono.

No matter how much the ranch denies it, the community has come to understand it is behind the push to bring Target to Kailua. Many of us consider this action to be in conflict with good environmental stewardship and contrary to supporting the long term wellbeing of the community.

The ranch could and should pursue a mixed-use redevelopment of the Don Quijote site.

That redevelopment should place a priority on creating a community gathering place and a cultural center. In addition, the allotment of space for a mix of retail shops should include a food cooperative that will support the community, including local producers and customers; a symbiotic and supportive relationship that would honor Kailua’s rich agricultural history and provide a meaningful way to support local agriculture and food production.

Furthermore, preservation of the Kailua Theatres and/or the American Savings Bank building would offer a way to not only preserve the history of Kailua through its buildings, but also to avoid having to demolish buildings that could be repurposed to preserve history and pursue progress at the same time.

The time has come for the community to articulate its preference for progress on the Don Quijote site that is rooted in support for the community and support for the landowner. This approach does not require the entry of a big box.

Many community members believe this is the most prudent and viable path of action. It allows our community to support the local economy, and at the same time, pursue progress that is respectful of the community. The way forward requires mutual respect between landowners/managers and the community.

Rosie Goo
Kaneohe

Sprawl-Busters

Sprawl-busters.com has posted our community story on their website. We would like to thank Mr. Al Norman (the guru of the anti-Wal-Mart movement) for his support and guidance with this effort!  Mr. Norman has helped dozens of communities keep big box stores out of their hometowns.  Visit the sprawl-busters.com website to continue to educate yourself on the negative impacts big box stores have on other communities like ours.

-------------------------------
February 2, 2011

Kailua, HI. Target Buys Into Opposition On Hawaii

Last month, the Target corporation told the media that it would open up 21 new stores in 12 states, which is about one-seventh of the growth pace of its largest rival---Wal-Mart. But when you are expanding in ‘only’ 21 sites, there are only 21 opportunities to run into fierce opposition.

Target hit the bullseye in Kailua, Hawaii, a community of roughly 50,000 residents, where locals have been waging a pitched battle to stop the Minnesota-based retailer for well over a year. There are at least three separate community groups now opposed to the Target.

On the list of new Target stores this year is a site in Hilo, Hawaii, slated to open in July of 2011. The Hilo site will be the fourth Target in Hawaii.

The list for 2012 stores will include a site in Kailua, which Target hopes to open by July of 2012. The 7 acre site in Kailua is located on Hahani Street, on the site of a Don Quijote store, which will be torn down. The property was owned by the Kaneohe Ranch. The existing building on the site is just under 90,000 s.f. Target says the store will create 250 ‘new’ jobs—but has not calculated how many existing jobs will be destroyed by their project.

To help convince local residents to support the store, the retailer has created a website just for the Kailua project, where the company claims that it carefully selected the site. “We evaluate and approve investment in new store opportunities, like Kailua, one-at-a-time,” Target explains, “after analyzing extensive data on existing store performance, demographics, competition and market potential. The Don Quijote site was chosen because we are confident Target will have a long-term home in the community and believe we complement existing retailers, providing high-quality, well-designed merchandise plus life's essentials at affordable prices.”

Target says it understands the “village feel” of Kailua, and so has proposed a “significantly smaller” store of 130,000 s.f. which is bigger than two football fields. “That is a significant change to what we would normally do in a market like Hawaii,” a Target spokesperson said. “That was in direct response to the fact that we knew Kailua wanted a smaller store.” Even the colors of the store will “blend in,” Target claims---using dark wood, lava rock, and beige and sand colored paint.

But opponents are not buying this 'lava rock' public relations gibberish, and have launched their own website too: nokailuatarget.blogspot.com. Opposition to the store began as letters to the editor as early as October of 2009, when rumors of the project began to appear in the media. The group No Target Kailua says it was originally comprised of a small group of individuals concerned about the scale of a store like Target coming to Kailua, O'ahu.

“Our grassroots effort,” the group says, “has grown to include hundreds of individuals who have connected via email, informational blasts, and is continuing to expand every day. Our goal is to catalyze action, consolidate efforts, and create effective communication as we TOGETHER work to preserve and maintain Kailua's 'small town' feeling.”

In an email to Sprawl-Busters at the end of November, 2010, opponents expressed their major concerns over the traffic impact of this project. “Target's plans to mitigate traffic address only the street immediately fronting the site,” the group wrote. “It will do nothing to improve the congested roadways that lead into Kailua, most of them narrow, two-lane streets winding through residential neighborhoods -- bumper-to-bumper traffic even without the addition of 20 percent more cars coming to a Target.”

Target has promised to spend more than $1 million in traffic improvements---but most of that money will be spent on improvements right at the site to give cars easier access to the store. Target will pay for a new traffic signal at Hahani Street, and new left-turn lanes and crosswalks. These are all investments Target is making on itself.

Although opponents have clamored for a real traffic impact study, Target insists that it will only do a traffic study after the store has opened---which is tantamount to waiting for an accident to happen to determine how badly people have been injured.

The opponents note that Target's proposed 130,000 s.f. store is 40,000 s.f. over the “Koolaupoko Communities Sustainable Plan,” which set a big-box limit of 90,000 for Kailua. The landowner produced two reports in 2004-5, in which the biggest issue raised by 86% of the Kailua residents was traffic. “Years later,” says No Target Kailua, “our traffic situation continues to get progressively worse! Yet before our eyes, we see continued out-of-control and out-of-scale development occurring in Kailua.”

On January 28, 2011, Target announced that it had actually purchased the site. “This allows us to make the type of major investment it will take to build a new store…it also demonstrates our long-term commitment to the community of Kailua.”

The Honolulu Star Advertiser newspaper this week asserted that Target will begin building this spring---despite the opposition from “a vocal group of residents who fear the big box giant will change Kailua’s small town charm…and cause further traffic congestion.” One resident was quoted as saying, “If they would consider a smaller store, I think there wouldn't be the depth of resistance to it.”

What you can do: Target has told the community that it “has a deep appreciation for the uniqueness of Kailua and our team members have been working hard to thoughtfully tailored the new store to reflect the town and its residents. This is an important element of the store planning and building process and a tradition we bring to all of our new store sites.” The retailer says: “We can't successfully integrate into the Kailua community unless we hear from you.” But they clearly are not listening.

Kailua is governed by the city council of Honolulu. Readers are urged to contact Mayor Peter Carlisle, District 3 City Councilor Ikaika Anderson, and the rest of the Honolulu City Council at the following emails: mayor@honolulu.gov, ianderson@honolulu.gov, dtanoue@honolulu.gov, wyoshioka@honolulu.gov, rsumitomo@honolulu.gov, emartin@honolulu.gov, schang@honolulu.gov, akobayashi@honolulu.gov, tgabbard@honolulu.gov, rcachola@honolulu.gov, bharimoto@honolulu.gov, ngarcia@honolulu.gov with the following message:

Dear Mayor Carlisle and Council Members, There is no reason why Target cannot produce a smaller bullseye for Kailua. Its competitors, like Wal-Mart, are now building superstores as small as 78,000 s.f. This current Target plan for Hahani Street is out of scale, and out of character with the rest of Kailua. This store will dwarf the new Whole Foods market, and will be twice the size of a football field. This kind of suburban sprawl may be commonplace on the Mainland U.S.---but it has no place in Kailua. The traffic study should be done now---and mitigation proposed now---not after the store is built. Most of the money Target is promising to spend is for roadway improvements right in front of their store.

It’s up to local government to stand up for residents and small businesses, and tell a developer to make Target fit Kailua---not the reverse.”