State lawmaker trying to finish what Nakashima started: bill to revitalize Hilo’s Waiākea Peninsula

The late Big Island state Rep. Mark Nakashima spent 15 years trying to pass legislation to revitalize the Waiākea Peninsula that features Hilo’s once-thriving Banyan Drive.

The road had been a tourist attraction for people to see the big, elegant trees planted mostly in the 1930s through the 1950s by famous people of the time, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt, aviator Amelia Earhart, baseball great Babe Ruth, vulcanologist Dr. Thomas Jaggar and Hawaiian royalty.

But over the decades the road and peninsula has fallen into disrepair, with some parts becoming a magnet for crime, homelessness, drug use and other issues.

Last year, months before Nakashima’s death from health complications due to a two-decades-long battle with diabetes, he made headway and got the state to set aside $1 million for the creation of a special fund within the Department of Business of Economic Development and Tourism’s Hawai‘i Community Development Authority to study the feasibility of revitalizing the area.

Nakashima secured the funding for three years, but so far no money has been spent. The reason? It requires the creation Waiākea Peninsula Community Development District Special Fund, which would need to be overseen by a yet-to-be-created Waiākea Peninsula Community Development District under the guidance of the state’s Hawai‘i Community Development Authority.

Last Friday, the House took a step toward creating both the fund and the district by passing House Bill 818. Now, it is in the hands of the Senate.

In 1976, the State Legislature established the Hawai‘i Community Development Authority to plan for the future development of underutilized urban areas of Hawai‘i through promoting and coordinating public and private sector community development. But these “Community Development Districts” has been underused.

Sue Lee Loy, a former Hawai‘i County Councilwoman, said the creation of the Waiākea Community Development District would be exciting, especially because two of its seats would be set aside for Hilo residents. She said that hasn’t happened in the past when it comes to master planning on state lands on Hawai‘i Island.

“The community gets a voice and seat at the table, and that is unprecedented,” she said.

With the death of Nakashima, Lee Loy has taken over where he left off, championing the revitalization of the peninsula for economic, cultural and social reasons that are of great value to the area and to the state.

Passage of this bill also is a step toward honoring Nakashima’s legacy, Lee Loy said.

The goal is to finally get the bill to become law, and then draw boundary maps and allow the Hawai‘i Community Development Authority to use the $1 million to come up with the beginning work of a revitalization plan, Lee Loy explained.

The bill defines the study area, and examines the existing condition and ability of the infrastructure, including the roads, wastewater and water.

“A great idea can’t happen if we don’t have the capacity to do it,” she said.

In his wisdom, Nakashima knew putting the $1 million dollars aside was part of the first step to revitalize the peninsula, Lee Loy said.

Bill 818 also provides development guidance and policies to direct the authority’s actions in the district, allows the authority to secure federal funding for planning, design, construction and maintenance work, and grants authority to implement a district improvement and maintenance program.

This creates a pathway for community and state partners to discuss the development of the area after it was declared blighted by the Hawai‘i County Windward Planning Commission in 2016.

“I’m hoping we’ve worked out all the concerns, and hopefully, Senate Majority Whip Lorraine Inouye [who represents Hilo] can carry this over the finish line,” said Lee Loy, who was elected last year to represent portions of Hilo in the House taking over the seat occupied by longtime state Rep. Richard Onishi, who decided to retire in 2023.

The proposed legislation also defines the area of the Waiākea Peninsula as encompassing Hāmākua, Kaʻūmana and a portion of Hilo; and it allows for two Hilo community stakeholders in the district to help guide discussions around the area.

Hilo resident Joy Dillon provided written testimony in support of the bill, saying: “The Waiākea peninsula and Banyon Drive have long been mired in bureaucratic discussions that have not produced any results. The peninsula and Banyon Drive in particular have continued to deteriorate and are long overdue for improvements.”

James McCully, chairperson for Hawai‘i County’s Banyan Drive Hawai‘i Redevelopment Agency, said the authority’s ability to conduct comprehensive planning, implement zoning rules with community input, and secure financial aid could prove essential to ensuring the proposed district’s success.

“The area has also seen a spike in criminal activity, homelessness, and drug use that pose hazards to both residents and visitors,” McCully stated.

The Banyan Drive Hawai‘i Redevelopment Agency also recognizes that oversight by the authority may prove “the most effective option at this time for effectively managing an area such as the Waiākea Peninsula,” McCully testified.

Some steps already have been taken to clean up the area. In December, the state demolished the former Uncle Billy’s Hotel, once an popular place along Banyan Drive. For years, it had been abandoned.

Lee Loy said there is still subsurface remediation ongoing at the demolition site with soil testing and foundational materials still to be removed.

“This region has long suffered from deferred maintenance, lack of coordinated oversight, and uncertain land-use planning, which have hindered its full potential as a vibrant, sustainable community and economic hub,” McCully said.

The last time Nakashima introduced a similar bill was during the 2023 legislative session. At that time, Nakashima, along with the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the authority, agreed to defer the bill to allow the state agencies to perform a site assessment and strategic market outlook for the peninsula.

Craig K. Nakamoto, executive director of Hawai‘i Community Development Authority, said PBR Hawai‘i was selected to perform the work, conducting community meetings along with representatives from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the authority and community leaders.

A final report was completed in January 2024.

Lee Loy said the PBR Hawai‘i study was a sampling study of potential economic growth.

In late 2023, the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Hawai‘i Community Development Authority held a community meeting in Hilo where the state presented the draft study of the peninsula to the community.

State officials were confronted by a Hilo community frustrated by the slow progress to clean up the blighted area of Waiākea Peninsula and future plans not focusing on its rich culture and history.

But Lee Loy thinks that meeting and the work the state conducted was a good primer for ongoing planning efforts in the area.

Preserving the culture and history of the area is a top priority for the majority of the community. Suggestions put forth by community members during a series of design lab workshops in October and November of 2023 included more ways to learn about the peninsula’s history and cultural importance, such as building a cultural center and/or museum; having classes, other workshops and forums; and creating an Indigenous data center.

“I’m hopeful and optimistic that it won’t take too long for studies,” Lee Loy said. “I really just want to see the start of something.”