Of the eight documents, the plans for Ewa and the Primary Urban Center, to which growth and supporting facilities will be directed over the next 25 years, have been entitled ADevelopment Plans.@ They will be the policy guide to development decisions and actions needed to support that growth.

Plans for the remaining six areas, which are envisioned as relatively stable regions for which public actions will focus on supporting existing populations, have been entitled ASustainable Communities Plans@ in order to appropriately indicate their intent.

Central Oahu is a Sustainable Communities Plan area. The Plan's vision statement and implementing policies support sustaining Central Oahu's unique character, lifestyle, and economic opportunities by focusing future residential development on master planned suburban communities within an Urban Community Boundary and on redevelopment around two transit centers in Waipahu.

The General Plan calls for development to be "encouraged" in Central Oahu and Ewa urban-fringe (suburban residential) areas and in the Kapolei urban center in order to "relieve development pressures" on the East Honolulu, Windward, North Shore, and

THE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES PLAN PROCESS

This document is the culmination of a planning effort led by the City and County of Honolulu=s Planning Department and its successor agency, the Department of Planning and Permitting. This effort comprised a process that encouraged and enabled significant involvement from the region=s neighborhood boards, community associations, groups of business leaders, religious and cultural organizations, private landowners, institutions and numerous individuals.

In its final form, the Plan incorporates input received from public outreach, review and comment received through a variety of formats since 1993.

THE HONOLULU LAND USE PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The City and County of Honolulu guides and directs land use and growth through a three-tier system of objectives, policies, planning principles, guidelines and regulations. The General Plan forms the first tier of this system. First adopted by resolution in 1977, the General Plan is a relatively brief document, consisting primarily of one-sentence statements of objectives and policies. It has been amended several times, but the basic objectives and policies set forth in the 1977 plan remain intact.

The second tier of the system is formed by the Development Plans, which are adopted and revised by ordinance. These plans address eight geographic regions of the island, including the Primary Urban Center, East Honolulu, Central Oahu, Ewa, Waianae, North Shore, Koolauloa and Koolaupoko. Under the current revision program, the Primary Urban Center and Ewa retain the title ADevelopment Plan.@ The other regions are now referred to as ASustainable Community Plans@ to reflect their policy intent.

The third tier of the system is composed of the implementing ordinances and regulations, including the Land Use Ordinance (Honolulu=s zoning code) and the City=s Capital Improvement Program. Mandated by the City Charter, these ordinances constitute the principal means for implementing the City=s plans. These ordinances and regulations are required to be consistent with the General Plan, the Development Plans, and each other.

In addition to these three Charter-mandated tiers, the Development Plans are supplemented by two planning mechanisms that are not required by the Charter, including the functional planning process and special area planning.

Functional planning activities, some of which are mandated by state or federal regulations, provide long-range guidance for the development of public facilities such as the water system, wastewater disposal, and transportation. Special Area Plans are intended to give specific guidance for neighborhoods, communities or specialized resources.

AUTHORITY OF THE DEVELOPMEN T AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES PLANS

The authority of the Development and Sustainable Community Plans (hereinafter referred to as ADevelopment Plans@ for simplicity) is derived from the City Charter, which mandates preparation of a General Plan and Development Plans to guide Athe development and improvement of the city.@ Together with the General Plan, the Development Plans provide a policy context for the land use and budgetary actions of the City. This is the authority that the originally adopted Development Plans carried, and it remains unchanged in the revised Plan presented in this document.

The Charter provides that Apublic improvement projects and subdivision and zoning ordinances shall be consistent with the development plan for that area.@ Although the Development Plans are not themselves regulatory, they Aregulate the regulators.@ They are policy tools and are to be used, in conjunction with the programs and budgets of the City, to accomplish the objectives of the City and as guides for the decisions made in the private sector.

WHY THE DEVELOPMENT PLANS HAVE BEEN REVISED

In 1992 the City Charter Commission recommended, and the voters of Honolulu adopted, amendments to the City Charter. Chief among its findings, the Charter Commission concluded that the Development Plans were overly detailed and had created processes that duplicated the zoning process. To eliminate this unnecessary duplication, the 1992 Charter amendments changed the definition of Development Plans from Arelatively detailed plans@ to Aconceptual schemes.@

The 1992 Charter amendments established that the purpose of the Development Plans is to provide:

C    Apriorities . . . (for the) coordination of major development activities; and

C    sufficient description of the Adesired urban character and the significant natural, scenic and cultural resources . . . to serve as a policy guide for more detailed zoning maps and regulations and public and private sector investment decisions.@

In response to the 1992 Charter amendments, the Planning Department launched a thorough review of the Development Plans. The goal of that review was the revision of all eight of the Development Plans to bring them into conformance with the Charter-mandated conceptual orientation. The revised plan presented in this document conforms to that mandate.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This plan is organized in five chapters and an appendix, as follows:

C    Chapter 1: "Central Oahu>s Role in Oahu=s Growth" defines the region=s role and identity within the overall framework of islandwide planning and land management.

C    Chapter 2: AThe Vision for Central Oahu's Future@ summarizes the community=s vision for the future of the region, and lists important elements of that vision.

C    Chapter 3: ALand Use Policies, Principles, and Guidelines@ is the plan=s policy core. It provides policy guidance for the region=s various land use elements.

C    Chapter 4: APublic Facilities and Infrastructure Policies and Principles@ outlines policies, principles, and actions needed to support the land use policies of Chapter 3.

C    Chapter 5: AImplementation@ addresses needs for carrying out provisions outlined by the plan.

The following summary provides an overview to the vision and policies of the Plan.

CENTRAL OAHU'S ROLE IN OAHU'S DEVELOPMENT PATTERN

!    Promote diversified agriculture and pineapple on 10,350 acres of prime and unique agricultural lands
!    Provide a variety of housing types in master planned suburban residential communities and mixed-use medium density centers in Waipahu
!    Provide new employment in existing commercial and industrial areas, in new commercial areas designed to support their surrounding residential communities, and in a new medical park