The Windward Planning Commission declared Banyan Drive “blighted” Thursday as it voted unanimously to form a new redevelopment agency.
The declaration was required, Hawaii County Planning Director Duane Kanuha told the commission, to create the new entity under Hawaii’s urban renewal law.
The vote marks the first time the law has been used in Hilo since the 1960 tsunami.
But, rather than responding to a natural disaster, the new agency is being formed to reverse the long decline that has afflicted East Hawaii’s main hotel area.
According to the law, conditions that warrant blighted status include dilapidated or obsolete buildings, unsanitary conditions, overcrowding, inadequate streets, or other conditions that endanger life or property.
Kanuha told the commissioners the agency is akin to the Kakaako redevelopment efforts on Oahu.
The vote occurred after a short presentation that outlined the boundaries for the redevelopment district but was otherwise light on details. Kanuha said he didn’t have a timeline to offer but noted the agency won’t be acquiring property or taking on development responsibilities itself.
State land leases will remain under the jurisdiction of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
The main role of the five-member agency board will be to develop a master plan for the area that will guide future development, Kanuha said. One of the ideas mentioned at a DLNR meeting in Hilo last month was creating a Native Hawaiian cultural center that could also host the Merrie Monarch festival.
Kanuha told the Tribune-Herald he intends to have three or four master plan options ready for the board to review by the time it meets.
One Banyan Drive resident, Carl Oguss, spoke before the commission and requested that Hilo’s needs for affordable housing and health care be kept in mind.
The redevelopment district’s boundaries include the Waiakea Peninsula, also known as Banyan Drive Peninsula, the former Hilo Iron Works, and properties on the mauka side of Kamehameha Avenue from the Wailoa River to Kalanikoa Street.
The area encompasses mostly state land, but several private parcels are included.
The master plan will need approval from the commission and County Council. The council will not need to vote to form the agency.
The next step is for Mayor Billy Kenoi to appoint five members to the agency’s board, which need confirmation from the council members, Kanuha said.
He said he didn’t know when that will occur, and Kenoi did
not respond to a voice mail left on his cellphone requesting comment.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
