24ns_ch2.00a - Revised Ordinances of Honolulu

This chapter presents the vision for North Shore's future and describes the key elements of this vision. Based on community input and General Plan policies for the region, the vision provides the basis for the Sustainable Communities Plan's policies, principles, and guidelines, which, in turn, will direct future land use decisions and natural resource management policies and programs on the North Shore.

The vision for North Shore extends to the year 2020. Between 1999 and 2020, North Shore is projected to experience very little growth. The region will remain country, with wide open space and rural communities, and growth limited to Haleiwa and Waialua. North Shore's population is projected to remain at 1.8 percent of the islandwide population, at 19,560 in the year 2020, which is consistent with the General Plan population distribution policies for Oahu.

This section contains the vision statement for the North Shore Sustainable Communities Plan area and describes the desired future conditions in the area in the year 2020 and beyond.

2.1 VISION STATEMENT

The North Shore in the year 2020 retains the unique qualities that have long defined its attractiveness to residents and visitors alike. It has maintained its scenic open spaces, enhanced its coastal resources, and has carried the flavor of its Hawaiian heritage, cultural diversity, and plantation past forward in the revitalization of its communities.

A varied quiltwork of crops and forest products now defines its vast tracts of agricultural lands. Its coastal waters, beaches, and parks, linked by walkways and bicycle routes, host a rich array of recreational pursuits. Its mountain areas provide safe havens for native plants and wildlife as well as wilderness settings for appropriate backcountry recreation. Haleiwa and Waialua remain the region's principal commercial and civic centers. These towns and associated residential communities reflect the area's history and maintain its rural character while meeting the needs of the 21st Century.

The growth of diversified agriculture has retained the North Shore's open space setting, given rise to agricultural processing and other support industries, and produced farmers' markets and other agricultural specialty outlets. Along with growth in the visitor and recreational industries, this has resulted in further needs for conventional commercial and industrial services, and an increase in cottage industries.

To maintain the region's rural character, these new activities have been centered at Haleiwa and Waialua. Haleiwa has remained the North Shore's regional commercial center, hosting a variety of specialty outlets, dining establishments, professional and business services, and water sport enterprises, along with low-key, country-style visitor accommodations. Waialua has become a renewed center for agricultural activity, a town center for resident commercial services, and a resource center for technology educationwithin its schools. While some of the needed new housing will be located in Haleiwa, most new residential neighborhoods will be located at Waialua.

Both towns retain their historic character, while serving as the main employment centers for the region. Similarly, all new residential neighborhoods and their supporting parks, playgrounds, and public services have been developed to standards which reflect their rural settings. In these ways, the North Shore of Oahu, long an attraction for Hawaii residents and visitors alike, has emerged in the year 2020 as a thriving model rural community in an open space setting that has successfully preserved its natural, cultural and historical heritage, linked its past with the future, and blended “Old Hawaii” with the 21st century.

2.2 KEY ELEMENTS OF THE VISION

The vision for the North Shore will be implemented through the following key elements:

    .    Rural Community, Agriculture, and Preservation Boundaries;

    .    Support for the diversified agriculture industry;

    .    Enhancement of the region's recreational and educational potential;

    .    Haleiwa and Waialua town as “country towns”;

    .    Waialua Mill site as the regional industrial center;

    .    Additional new housing limited to areas contiguous to Haleiwa and Waialua towns and establishment of rural design guidelines;

    .    Adequate public infrastructure, facilities, and services;

    .    Retention of cultural and historic resources; and

    .    Adaptation of the Ahupua'a concept in land use and natural resource management.

Each of these elements is discussed below.

2.2.1 Establish Rural Community, Agriculture, and Preservation Boundaries to Protect Agricultural, Open Space, and Natural Resources

The North Shore is characterized by vast tracts of agricultural lands, open spaces, and natural and cultural resources. To protect these resources from development, three types of boundaries have been established to guide development and preserve open space and agricultural areas. These are the Rural Community Boundary, Agriculture Boundary, and Preservation Boundary. It is intended that these boundaries will remain fixed through the 2020 horizon. They are intended to help guide resource management, future developmentor redevelopment within existing zoning designations or future zoning designations and other standards or guidelines that may be developed in response to plan provisions, other established entitlements, or in accordance with pertinent policy and character described in this plan.

Rural Community Boundary

The Rural Community Boundary (RCB) is established to define, protect, and contain communities in areas which the General Plan designates "rural" and which exhibit the physical characteristics of rural lifestyles. The purpose of this boundary is intended to provide adequate lands for facilities needed to support established communities, to protect such communities from more intense land uses and patterns of development associated with more urban areas and to protect areas outside the boundary for agriculture or other resource or open space values. Where appropriate, this boundary also contains open space elements, the preservation of which is essential to the character of the rural community being defined. They may include lands designated "park," "agriculture," "preservation," or areas with development-related hazards such as steep slopes or unstable soils.

Rural communities defined by this boundary consist of smaller, more dispersed, less intensively developed residential communities and towns, and minor industrial areas than those of urban or urban fringe areas. Development character is generally low density, low rise, small scale, and reflective of a "country" setting. Within residential areas, the landscaping and front yards which provide the foregrounds to their respective residences are the principal visual elements. In commercial areas, the pedestrian environment and associated amenities predominate, and storefronts on both sides of the street are simultaneously perceivable. Buildings are oriented principally toward the street, relate readily to a person's size, and are organized to encourage interaction between the public and private domains.

As shown on Exhibit 2.1, the RCB on the North Shore conceptually defines the limits of residential, commercial, industrial, or other similar uses. As no proposals for these types of uses will be considered outside the RCB, this boundary also prevents the encroachment of development onto important agricultural lands and open spaces.

Areas outside the RCB include important agricultural lands as well as preservation lands which include areas with important open space, scenic, or natural resource values. Uses such as commercial and industrial development, public and private schools, and residential subdivision with no bona fide agricultural activities should not be permitted in these areas. Permissible land uses include agriculture and limited low-intensity types of outdoor recreational uses where appropriate, such as on nonagricultural lands or agricultural lands that are not suitable for intensive cultivation, provided they do not diminish the agricultural potential of these sites. Such uses must be compatible with the open space, and the natural and scenic character of these resources. Other permitted uses outside the RCB include environmental and educational programs and facilities that are resource compatible, such as the proposed International Science, Mathematics, and Technology

Figure

Teacher Training Center that uses existing facilities at Camp Mokuleia and Camp Erdman in Mokuleia.

Rural communities within the RCB include concentrations of residential, commercial, and industrial uses as well as the network of roads, parks, and open spaces which define their edges or give them character. Relative to the State Land Use District boundaries, the RCB generally circumscribes built-up sections of Mokuleia, Waialua, Haleiwa, Kawailoa, and Sunset Beach that are within the State Urban District. It also includes portions of the State Agricultural District in Sunset Hills, Pupukea and Lihi Lani that are zoned as Country, as well as portions of the State Agricultural District makai of the highway in Haleiwa and Waialua that are designated and zoned for agricultural use. However, except for limited “infill” areas contiguous to Haleiwa and Waialua towns that are designated for future residential and commercial areas, agricultural lands within the RCB should remain in the State Agricultural District and continue to be designated and zoned as Agriculture, so as to maintain the agricultural uses and/or open space value within the RCB.

Within the RCB, open space will continue to define communities, and significant natural resources (such as streams, natural drainageways, wetlands, and fishponds) will continue to be protected. New development within the RCB is limited to infill low-density, low-rise development contiguous to existing built areas, to promote a compact form of development that will result in lower development costs and more efficient utilization of existing infrastructure systems. It is anticipated that these infill areas within the RCB contain ample capacity to accommodate existing and future residential, commercial, and industrial needs to the year 2020.

Agriculture Boundary

The Agriculture Boundary is established to protect important agricultural lands for their economic and open space values, and for their value in helping to give a region its identifiable character. Important agricultural lands include lands currently in agricultural use and lands with high value for future use. They include agriculturally important lands designated "prime," "unique," or "other" by the "Agricultural Lands of Importance to the State of Hawaii" (ALISH) maps.

The primary use of all lands within these boundaries must be agriculture or directly supportive of the agriculture industry. Exceptions include residential uses if they are permitted under the zoning code, outdoor recreational uses where compatible and appropriate, environmental and educational activities that are resource compatible, and "institutional" uses and environmentally compatible earth stations and communications facilities, which must prove and be developed and operated to maintain compatibility with agricultural uses.

The Agriculture Boundary is not displayed as a discreet boundary on the Open Space, Land Use and Public Facilities Maps in Appendix A. It is implied rather, by the agricultural land use designations outside the Rural Community Boundary.

Preservation Boundary

The Preservation Boundary is established to protect lands which form an important part of a region's open space fabric for their natural, cultural, or scenic resource value. Such lands include important wildlife habitat, archaeological or historic sites, significant landforms or landscapes over which significant views are available, and hazard areas. Significant natural resources on the North Shore also include Natural Area Reserves, Forest Reserves, and other important ecological zones that lie outside the Rural Community Boundary. These resources are identified and protected by policies and guidelines from incompatible uses. Establishing buffer zones around biologically sensitive areas and setbacks along streams, wetlands, and coastlands will help toward preservation of these resources.

The Preservation Boundary generally circumscribes underdeveloped lands outside the Rural Community and Agriculture Boundaries that are designated as Preservation on the Open Space, Land Use and Public Facilities Maps in Appendix A. They include the following types of land:

    .    Land necessary for protecting watersheds, water resources and water supplies;

    .    Lands necessary for the conservation, preservation and enhancement of sites with scenic, historic, archaeologic or ecologic significance;

    .    Lands necessary for providing and preserving parklands, wilderness and beach reserves, and for conserving natural ecosystems of endemic plants, fish and wildlife, for forestry, and other related activities to these uses;

    .    Lands having an elevation below the maximum inland line of the zone of wave action, and marine waters, fishponds and tide pools unless otherwise designated;

    .    All offshore and outlying islands unless otherwise classified;

    .    Lands with topography, soils, climate or other related environmental factors that may not be normally adaptable or presently needed for urban, rural or agricultural use;

    .    Lands with general slopes of 20 percent or more which provide for open space amenities and/or scenic values;

    .    Lands susceptible to floods and soil erosion, lands undergoing major erosion damage and requiring corrective attention by the State or Federal Government, and lands necessary to the protection of the health, safety and welfare of the public by reason of soil instability or the lands' susceptibility to landslides and/or inundation by tsunami and flooding;

    .    Lands used for national, state or city parks outside the Rural Community Boundary; or

    .    Lands suitable for growing commercial timber, grazing, hunting, and recreation uses, including facilities accessory to such uses when said facilities are compatible with the natural physical environment.

2.2.2    Support and Promote a Diversified Agriculture Industry

A healthy agricultural industry can generate economic opportunities that are appropriate to the region's open space and rural qualities. In addition to creating Rural Community and Agriculture Boundaries that provide long-range protection for agricultural lands, land use policies and guidelines are defined to protect important agricultural lands from encroachment by incompatible uses and to encourage long-term investments in productive agricultural uses on those lands. Economic incentives to support the industry, including tax or other incentives or measures to maintain productive agricultural lands, facilitate conversion from plantation crops to diversified agriculture, and promote long-term leases or sale of lands for farming should be considered.

Industrial and commercial activities which support or service agricultural production will create further economic opportunities. To promote the cost-efficient use of existing infrastructure and prevent urbanization of agricultural lands, major agricultural support facilities should be consolidated in designated areas that are accessible to existing infrastructure. Qualified uses which meet specific criteria outlined in Section 3.2.2 should be allowed on a permit basis in these areas.

Existing agricultural support facilities are currently located at the Waialua Mill site. To allow for expansion, the area makai of the mill site is identified as a primary agricultural support area for the region. A secondary agricultural support area is proposed in Kawailoa near Alluvion Nurseries, to provide localized support for adjacent agricultural activities in the mauka fields of Kawailoa.

2.2.3 Enhance the Region's Recreational and Educational Potential

The North Shore is known for its numerous beach parks, world famous surf spots, and abundant mauka and makai resources. To preserve and enhance the recreational resources along the shoreline, and to meet islandwide demands on these resources, policies and guidelines are proposed to expand access to the shoreline, to improve parks with supporting facilities such as bathrooms, showers, parking, etc., and to expand beach parks whenever feasible.

In addition to ongoing park improvements at existing parks such as Sunset Beach Park (BP), Aweoweo BP, and Haleiwa Alii BP, expanded access and improvements to other beach parks in the area are proposed, including Mokuleia BP, Makaleha BP, Haleiwa BP, Laniakea BP, Kawailoa BP, Uppers and Leftovers BP, Kaunala Bay BP, and Waialee BP. Camping facilities are being proposed at Waialee BP. The maintenance andimprovements to existing beach parks as well as additional access to the shoreline should be a priority.

For the mauka areas, policies and guidelines provide for expanded access for appropriate forms of recreational opportunities that do not compromise significant environmental resources or important agricultural activities. Access to mauka areas above Mokuleia, Haleiwa, and Pupukea could be expanded for hiking, camping, hunting, and horseback riding or other resource-compatible forms of recreation within the context of sound resource management.

To explore and support the educational potential of Mokuleia and Waialua, low-impact, resource-sensitive environmental, educational, and cultural interpretive programs could be accommodated at Kaena Point and in the mauka areas of Mokuleia, Haleiwa, and Pupukea. While promoting expanded access and recreational opportunities to coastal and mauka resources, the value of the resources must be protected from overuse. Efforts to establish an International Science, Mathematics, and Technology Teacher Training Center at Mokuleia and Waialua and a resource center for technology training and long-distance learning at Waialua schools should be encouraged.

More community-based parks for area residents with better maintenance and amenities to support the community's recreational needs should be provided. As new housing areas are developed in Waialua, Puuiki Park should be acquired to serve as a community-based park for area residents. In Haleiwa, the proposed Haleiwa Mauka Park (commonly known as the Haleiwa Regional Park) should be developed as a community-based park with facilities to accommodate active as well as passive recreational pursuits. In addition, an integrated system of pedestrian paths/bikeways linking the parks, schools, and town centers in Waialua and Haleiwa is proposed. In the long term, a public golf course on the North Shore could be considered to expand recreational and employment opportunities in the region.

2.2.4 Designate Haleiwa and Waialua Towns as “Country Towns”

Haleiwa and Waialua towns are the main commercial districts on the North Shore with different functions and distinct characteristics. The historic Haleiwa town with its “main street” ambience is the region's main commercial attraction for residents and visitors, while Waialua town is a plantation town that services the residents of Waialua and Mokuleia.

To maintain their rural “small town” character and to promote compact town development, “country town” designations are proposed for the cores of both towns. This would allow for a mix of commercial, residential, and compatible industrial uses (such as small product or clothing manufacturing and assembly) with policies and guidelines to ensure that the scale and character of future renovation, redevelopment or other new construction reflects the towns' historic character and the region's rural landscape.

Haleiwa. New development should continue to be concentrated along Kamehameha Highway. The Haleiwa Special District Design Guidelines remain in force to ensure that all new development is compatible with existing built areas and the rural character of theregion. Ongoing efforts to improve Haleiwa Town with entry features, landscaping, pedestrian walkways, and off-street parking behind buildings are encouraged. The Sustainable Communities Plan envisions a revitalized Haleiwa Town with shops and restaurants, professional and service businesses, enterprises with art and recreational themes, and specialty outlets featuring regional products.

To attract more visitors to Haleiwa and keep them in the area longer, appropriate forms of overnight visitor accommodations in the form of small-scale country inns should be allowed on a permit basis in the Haleiwa Country Town district. To ensure that the region's rural character and infrastructure system are not adversely affected, locational and performance criteria for visitor accommodations should be established.

Waialua. Waialua Town is envisioned as a center for agricultural activity and resident services. Its proximity to Kaena Point and recreational opportunities in the area puts it in a good position to service the recreational and environmental education activities these areas may attract. A small country inn in the area could attract some visitors to the area and help to generate more business activities in the town core. The community's efforts to establish high technology industry in Waialua should be encouraged. Efforts include a high technology-based entrepreneur education and enterprise support system within the Waialua Complex schools and the schools' partnership with the University of California at Berkeley, as part of implementing the International Science, Mathematics, and Technology Teacher Training Center and its worldwide computer-based telecommunication network in the region. These efforts will also help to enhance the quality of education and, along with the establishment of a proposed private high school in the area, will promote education as an industry that will create professional-level jobs for area residents. In addition, Waialua's central location and proximity to the schools and park is ideal for locating civic and community services such as job training programs for the youth and support services for the elderly. To preserve its plantation heritage and rural character, design guidelines appropriate to Waialua Town should be established.

The core of Waialua Town should be centered around Goodale Avenue and Kealohanui Street, which could become a landscaped, pedestrian-oriented mall, anchored on the west by Waialua Coffee Visitor Center with its showcase processing areas and indoor plantation museum, and on the east with the Dole office building and an outdoor plantation museum. Appropriate forms of small-scale, low-intensity tourist activities which could include tours of the agricultural farms and processing facilities could help to revitalize the town's commercial center by attracting more people there.

2.2.5 Retain the Waialua Mill Site as the Regional Industrial Center

Waialua Mill site would remain as the industrial center for the region. In addition to industrial uses that support the agriculture industry, general industrial uses such as boat and car repair, surfboard manufacturing and repair, manufacturing of crafts and island products, and warehousing are permitted. Future expansion of the industrial area could be accommodated makai of the mill site. “Clean,” non-noxious, service/industrial uses such as clothing and craft manufacturing would also be allowed behind or above streetfront commercial uses in the mixed use country town districts of Haleiwa and Waialua.

2.2.6 Limit New Housing to Areas Contiguous to Haleiwa and Waialua Towns and Establish Rural Design Guidelines for Rural Residential Development

In response to housing needs expressed by Waialua and Haleiwa residents and anticipated demand generated by growth in diversified agriculture and other industries, two residential expansion areas contiguous to Haleiwa and Waialua Towns are proposed. In Waialua, the existing mill camp between the mill site and Puuiki Road is designated Residential to reflect its existing use, and new housing will be located mauka of the mill camp, between Puuiki and Goodale Avenues. In Haleiwa, infill residential expansion could occur north of Paalaa Road on lands outside the flood plain.

To ensure compatibility with the region's rural character and surrounding open space, rural design guidelines and development standards are proposed for new residential areas. Rural models such as the plantation community at Poamoho Camp, which is characterized by clusters of single-story dwellings with landscaping, narrow streets, and common parks and open spaces within the neighborhood, could be adapted and considered as possible examples to follow.

In addition to guidelines to limit building heights and lot coverage in order to maximize open space and landscaping, alternative development options to allow for site design flexibility, creative site utilization, and open space preservation are encouraged. Rural streetscape design, as opposed to more urban and suburban models, with narrower streets and grassed swales in place of sidewalks with curbs and gutters are considered appropriate. Where feasible and appropriate, existing plantation homes should be rehabilitated in a manner which allows them to be affordable to existing residents.

2.2.7 Provide Adequate Public Infrastructure, Facilities, and Services

Public agencies and private developers should work together to provide adequate infrastructure and needed facilities and services for residents and workers in the area. Infrastructure should not detract from scenic amenities, recreational opportunities, open space, or other amenities. New major facilities should be centrally located.

Adequate, environmentally sensitive wastewater treatment systems, with minimal impact on groundwater and ocean resources, to meet residents' and visitors' needs, should be a high priority.

In addition to improving drainage controls to mitigate storm runoff and flood hazards, adequate infrastructure for drainage systems should be established and maintained to ensure continuous runoff. Fields in agricultural production should implement Best Management Practices (BMPs), including those recommended in the State Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program, to minimize soil erosion.

An adequate circulation network should be provided for all modes of transportation. The transportation system should include an integrated network of pedestrian paths andbikeways to link the various residential communities with parks, schools, and the town centers of Haleiwa and Waialua.

Other priority needs identified by the community include retention of the public library in Waialua and maintenance of existing parks in the region.

Use of proven alternative sources of energy including use of solar energy systems should be encouraged.

2.2.8 Retain Cultural and Historic Resources

The North Shore has a wealth of historic and cultural resources. Preserving significant plantation era and other historic features such as at Haleiwa Town, Waialua Town, the Waialua Mill, and other sites, and protecting Native Hawaiian cultural and archaeological sites is important in retaining the area's unique identity and country character. Historic site restoration and interpretive programs should be integrated into the development of parks and shorelines and mountain access systems, to help enhance appreciation of these resources.

2.2.9 Adapt the Ahupua'a Concept in Land Use and Natural Resource Management
Under the Hawaiian land division system known as “ahupua'a,” lands typically ran from the mountains to the sea and were managed using environmental land use and resources management practices that recognized the close relationship between land-based and marine-based natural resources. Adapted to the context of today's community needs and technology, the ahupua'a concept provides useful principles for guiding the use and management of the North Shore's natural resources. In keeping with this approach, the planning and implementation of land use decisions and land-based actions should fully consider related effects on coastal waters and nearshore environment.

Revised Ordinances