Do you agree with the following vision element?
"Promote Hale'iwa and Waialua Towns as Country Towns"
View the 2011 NSSCP description of this vision element below:
Hale‘iwa and Waialua Towns are the main commercial districts on the North Shore, each with different functions and distinct characteristics. The historic Hale‘iwa Town with its “main street” ambience is the region’s main commercial attraction for residents and visitors, while Waialua Town is a plantation town that primarily services the residents of Waialua and Mokulē‘ia.
To maintain their rural “small town” character and to promote compact town development, the cores of both towns are designated as “country towns.” While the built environment within each town’s core reflects the town’s distinct historic character and the region’s rural landscape, both towns are celebrated for the unique mix of commercial, residential, and compatible industrial uses (such as small product or clothing manufacturing and assembly).
Hale‘iwa. Hale‘iwa Town features a diverse mix of shops and restaurants, professional and service businesses, enterprises with art and recreational themes, and specialty outlets featuring regional products. Entry features into the town, landscaping, pedestrian walkways, and off-street parking behind buildings have spawned the town’s revitalization, and new developments are concentrated along Kamehameha Highway. The Hale‘iwa Special District Design Guidelines remain in force to ensure that all new development is compatible with existing built areas and the rural character of the region. Small-scale visitor accommodations located within the Hale‘iwa Country Town District provide overnight facilities for visitors wishing to vacation on the North Shore. These small scale visitor accommodations are one alternative to address community concerns about the illegal use of private homes as short-term vacation rentals. Short-term vacation rentals and the additional pressures such use places on surrounding residences have been addressed. Locational and performance criteria addressing the different types of visitor accommodations have been established and are actively enforced.
Waialua. Waialua Town is the quiet heart of the North Shore’s residential and farming community, featuring the region’s primary agricultural support area and a vibrant core with basic retail and commercial services and light industrial uses that support the local community. Although agricultural and light industrial businesses are the major employers in Waialua, the town’s proximity to Ka‘ena Point and the recreational opportunities in the area attracted recreational and environmental education activities to the area, including high technology and education industries that partner with area schools. Such partnerships have enhanced the quality of education and, along with the establishment of a private high school in the area, have created professional-level jobs for area residents. In addition, Waialua’s central location and proximity to the schools and parks is ideal for locating civic and community services such as job training programs for the youth and support services for the elderly. To preserve its plantation heritage and rural character, design guidelines appropriate to Waialua Town are established. The core of Waialua Town is centered around Goodale Avenue and Kealohanui Street. As envisioned in the Waialua Town Master Plan (2005), revitalization of the town’s core has created a landscaped, pedestrian-oriented mall anchored by the Waialua Bandstand and the revitalized Waialua Mill site, an expanded farmers market, and community and commercial uses. Appropriate forms of small-scale, low-intensity tourist activities such as tours of nearby agricultural farms and processing facilities and recreational resources are helping to further revitalize the town’s commercial center by attracting more people there.