The presidents of Brigham Young University Hawaii, the Polynesian Cultural Center and Hawaii Reserves, Inc. (HRI) collectively held a series of meetings this week to update faculty, staff and community members on the status of the Envision Laie project and invite them to participate further on:
- Tuesday, April 28, BYUH Cannon Activities Center, 6-9 p.m.; or repeated on...
- Wednesday, April 29, CAC, 6-9 p.m.; plus...
- A follow-up Open House to discuss the next steps in the process on Thursday, April 30, in the CAC from 6-7:30 p.m. To sign up or for more information, go to: http://www.EnvisionLaie.com.
HRI President & CEO R. Eric Beaver [pictured at upper right] explained that in 2008 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints commissioned a team of experts to conduct a three-phase Envision Laie study as part of a 50-year sustainability assessment of its three major affiliated entities in Laie, and to a lesser extent the Laie Hawaii Temple. "The first phase is already complete. That was an internal review, working very closely with the management teams of each entity," he said.
"Phase II, which we are in the middle of, is a look at sustainability scenarios for the institutions and their impact in the community, including a community involvement process; and the third phase will be to submit an actual request to the City and County of Honolulu to incorporate some changes in their plan [for Ko'olau Loa] that would help facilitate our sustainability."
He added that the visioning process, which has a 50-year horizon — consistent with the State of Hawaii proposed 2050 planning process, "provides a view of the options before us and helps us understand the long-term consequences of the choices we make today."
Beaver said early findings show "a lack of jobs, economic diversity and affordable housing is causing slow deterioration in this area," and that Ko'olau Loa is no longer a viable place to raise families.
He said preliminary results indicate that "the key providers in this area — BYU-Hawaii and the PCC — are not sustainable in their current form and structures, and cannot continue as they are." He also said sustainable solutions for appropriate growth should include:
- Land for affordable housing.
- Land to preserve future BYU-Hawaii and PCC expansion.
- Land to create jobs for economic diversity.
Beaver said preliminary results also show "the very top issue is affordable housing. That's no surprise to any of us. Second behind that is public education, and third is better jobs."
"They found that BYU-Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center are the two main economic catalysts in this area, and it's important that they remain viable," he said. Other possible solutions might include a hotel, town center, a business park/light industrial area in Malaekahana, and convenience retail if housing is built there to support that community, as well as experimental agriculture and alternative energy.
Currently, Beaver continued, "most people are driving out of Ko'olau Loa to go to work," and of those who work in the region, BYU-Hawaii and the PCC provide approximately 27 percent of all the jobs, which rises to 70 percent when limited to just Laie. He also noted that 13 percent of the people in Ko'olau Loa are below the poverty level — making this the second-most economically depressed area on Oahu.
BYU-Hawaii President Steven C. Wheelwright [pictured at right] explained that annual costs at the university have approximately doubled over the past 14 years, with the majority of the funding coming from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"We can't keep growing the cost to the university, or the cost for the students, at that same rate," he said, pointing out that expanding the current student body of approximately 2,400 students to at least 4,000 would create economies of scale. "We have to grow the university in order to become more sustainable."
President Wheelwright said such growth would require that BYU-Hawaii "replace all of our single-student dorms, have more of them, and expand our married student housing over the next 10 years. Our goal is to have about 80 percent of our single students and about 90 percent of our married students on campus. We think that's the right balance, given the size of the community and what they can support. We also need to provide faculty and staff with affordable housing options."
"We're looking at a mortgage assistance program," he continued, "so that between ourselves and the banks we can provide affordable mortgages for any house that is in the realm of what a faculty member could achieve."
"Obviously, one of the critical issues for us is to get the housing designation appropriately situated [on City planning maps] so that the growth of the campus is not limited," he stressed.
Polynesian Cultural Center President Von D. Orgill [pictured at right] explained that on top of the economic challenges and declining markets the tourism industry currently faces, the PCC is also dealing with years of deferred maintenance and the recent, "very painful" cost-savings measure of reducing the fulltime staff by approximately one-third.
"We're hoping that's going to be temporary and we're going to be able to turn that around in the coming years," he said. To do that, the Center has reduced its break-even point by approximately 25 percent over the past five years, is "still looking at additional cost reductions if the attendance continues to drop," and is "reformulating who we are and expanding that appeal so we can attract more people to the Center."
"We're never going to go away from the cultural things we've been doing so well and for so long," he stressed, but said marketing experiments such as the Haunted Lagoon event last October was a "smashing success. The reality is that the Center has been known for years for providing wholesome, clean family entertainment...and we're going to be looking at other forms of wholesome family entertainment as well."
President Orgill continued, "If we're going to be doing additional new things, we might well need additional land to expand our offerings. We don't want the development plan to constrain our abilities to do that. That's all we're asking for. Don't pen us in: We're determined to be around for a long time."
Taking the microphone again, Beaver emphasized that "the real question is what kind of change do we want to promote and protect the things that we feel are important in this area."
He explained that the City and County's development plan for Ko'olau Loa, which is currently under review, "does not allow any movement of boundaries," whereas the Laie entities are seeking the option to expand the university, transfer proposed housing and a town-center from mauka [inland] of the campus to nearby Malaekahana "which is the most build-able area in terms of its topography," and add some flex space for the PCC.
Community input on these proposals will be discussed during the three meetings detailed above, Beaver continued. "We want to invite all Ko'olau Loa residents to participate in those; and we're told by the City that they'll be hosting a final community meeting on the City plan sometime in May. When we get that date, we'll let everybody know."
"We want to encourage everyone to participate. Your involvement will be important to the future of Laie as well as its impact on Ko'olau Loa."
For more information, go to www.EnvisionLaie.com.
— Photos by Mike Foley