How Honolulu’s Push For More Housing Sparks Opposition From Rival Interests … Housing is an abstract goal, but the concrete reality usually sparks opposition from advocates for farmland or the environment or those simply worried about urban woes.
For a senior seeking an inexpensive place to live, it might seem ideal: an affordable rental in the back of the verdant Manoa Valley adjacent to a historic cemetery.
But many Manoa residents have a different view of the proposed Manoa Banyan Court project.
They say the development, which envisions 288 affordable rental units spread among four three-story apartment buildings with 185 parking spaces, will increase the chance of flooding, not just in the rainy valley, but also downstream in Makiki and Waikiki.
The project will also mean the loss of a preserved forest on land zoned for preservation, critics say, something rare in residential areas. Finally, there’s the issue of more traffic in a valley accessible by only two roads.
