The Koolau Loa Neighborhood Board has decided to support a development plan that would allow a thousand new homes to be built on Oahu’s windward coast.

The board voted 6-4 in favor of the land use guidelines, known as Koolau Loa Sustainable Communities Plan, on Monday evening.

The plan includes a proposal backed by the Mormon Church called Envision Laie proposing a shopping center, office buildings and more than 1,000 homes.

Advocates of the plan say that it will provide much-needed housing and jobs for residents in Laie. 

But others argue that the plan doesn’t represent the desires of the broader region and is an example of poor planning.

Courtesy of the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting

— Anita Hofschneider