Kāneʻohe residents have spent tens of thousands of dollars on legal fees appealing a decision by Honolulu’s planning director to approve a plan for a 24-bed kūpuna care facility in the Mahinui neighborhood.
Developer Jacob Chan has spent tens of thousands of dollars defending the plan. He says the project will help meet the growing need for senior housing on Oʻahu and once completed, would enable his company Hawaiian Legacy Care to finance other residential projects, including more affordable homes for older adults.
The project ran into strong headwinds at a public hearing in December 2022 when neighbors on Kaimalu Place, an adjacent cul-de-sac, first raised concerns that the operation would create problems such as increases in traffic and noise, and additional stormwater runoff into the adjacent Kāneʻohe Bay…