The next Ewa Neighborhood Board’s meeting will discuss amendments to the City Council Bill 65 regarding the Ewa Development Plan. Glenn Oamilda, president of the Ewa Beach Community Association, will propose changes for improvement. Presently in the Ewa region there are several different individual community plans which should be reviewed for their compatibility. These plans include the Ewa Development Plan, Kalaeloa Master Plan, Ewa Villages Master Plan, Haseko Marina Plan, Ewa Regional Transportation Plan, and the Oahu General Plan. Oamilda will call for the coordination of these plans within the Ewa Development Plan. Furthermore, Oamilda is concerned that the Ewa Development Plan has not been reviewed for over ten years when it should have been reviewed every five years according to law.
Oamilda feels that the Haseko Marina Plan has failed in its promise to provide a marina for its housing project and economic development plans. “In the late ’80’s Haseko took over the area and promised to create jobs, wipe out blight, and build a marina which would be the focal point of the project. There is still no marina while the project is in its fourth phase of building residential units. Last I heard is that the marina is financially not feasible, and they are thinking of building a pond, smaller than a lagoon. Also a well-preserved body of a Hawaiian princess floated to the surface when the company did some preliminary work on the marina construction. Apparently it was buried in the area.”
Oamilda will also ask for an amendment requesting recognition of historic sites in the community by the state government and eventually by the federal government. These areas are: Varona Village, Tenney Village, Renton Village, the plantation manager’s mansion, and the plantation graveyard. Moreover, he will request that the boundaries of the villages be extended to include the old Oahu Railroad Land, Marine Corp. Airfield, and known archaeological cultural sites in Kalaeloa. Other speakers will attend to support or discuss these amendments – John Bond on historical aspects of Ewa; Tom Berg on infrastructure, roads, schools, and the Bio Lab; Keoni Dudley on changing the boundaries of the Hoapili development for safe traffic routes; and Mike Lee on the cultural importance of Kalaeloa. With the recent discovery of Hawaiian underground burial caves in Kalaeloa, Lee is concerned because many of his ohana are buried in this area.
Other new business on the board’s agenda are the Domestic Violence Action Center Company Profile, presented by Ronda Hayashi-Simpliciano, and the Hale Kipa Ed Voc Program and Charter School. The Ewa Neighborhood Board will meet at 7:00 P.M. on Thursday, March 14, 2013, at the Ewa Beach Public and School Library, 91-950 North Road, Ewa Beach. Public attendance is welcome, and people are invited to participate in the discussions.
