CaseStudy:Development of a high-capacity transit corridor

The construction of a High-Capacity Transit Corridor has been proposed by the county and city of Honolulu for a 20-mile elevated, electrically-powered, fixed-guideway transit system in the east-west corridor between East Kapolei and the Ala Moana Center. The transit corridor would provide service to Honolulu International Airport and 20 other stations. The City has applied for funding assistance from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), which is conducting the Section 106 review for this undertaking. The City examined effects to historic properties in coordination with its preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement under the Those expected to be adversely affected represent a diverse cross-section of resources, including historic bridges, Navy housing, community parks, Quonset huts, office buildings, and the Chinatown Historic District. Through consultation, FTA further determined that two National Historic Landmarks (NHLs)—the United States Naval Base, Pearl Harbor, and the CINCPAC Headquarters Building—would also experience adverse effects.

The ACHP formally entered consultation in early August 2009 with the following goals:
 * foster responsive communication among the federal agency, applicant, and a large group of consulting parties;
 * elicit clarification about how the Section 106 review process followed FTA planning policies and procedures;
 * ensure the consideration of issues of concern to Native Hawaiian organizations (NHOs);
 * facilitate discussion about measures to address indirect effects.

FTA proposed development of a Programmatic Agreement (PA) to resolve adverse effects given the phased nature of project construction and the need to identify and assess effects to archaeological historic properties within the urban corridor as phased work proceeds. Consultation to develop the PA began in July 2009 but faced an early challenge when the applicant proposed finalizing the agreement within one week of the first consultation meeting. Consulting parties objected given the scope and complexity of historic preservation issues presented by the Honolulu High-Capacity Transit Corridor and the need to carefully consider the terms of any PA. Following the involvement of FTA headquarters staff in the review process, the schedule was expanded to accommodate a series of meetings throughout the late summer and fall of 2009.

A primary concern during the Section 106 review has been the potential to identify iwi kupuna, or burials, that hold religious and cultural significance for Native Hawaiians. Several NHOs participating in consultation expressed serious concerns about the high likelihood that such burials may be encountered during project implementation and requested the consideration of additional avoidance alternatives. While other corridors were previously eliminated through the analysis of alternatives based on the full range of transportation planning considerations, FTA and the City have agreed to undertake archaeological studies in the areas of greatest concern to NHOs earlier in order to allow increased time for the development of design measures to avoid adverse effects to archaeological historic properties within the project corridor.

Measures to address indirect and cumulative effects, particularly those caused by station construction and the development of surrounding transit-oriented residential and commercial uses, have been another central concern in the consultation process.

Consulting parties, including the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Historic Hawaii Foundation, have advocated the inclusion of incentives and planning-related provisions in the PA to encourage preservation-sensitive rehabilitation and new development along the transit corridor. These measures would complement design review provisions that encourage adherence to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards when station construction would occur within or adjacent to a historic property.

FTA, the Hawaii State Historic Preservation Officer, and the ACHP would be signatories to a final PA. The National Park Service (representing the Department of the Interior in consultation since NHLs will be adversely affected) and the City are invited signatories. FTA is currently working with these and other consulting parties to address outstanding concerns and finalize a PA for the undertaking.