A state agency governing development in Kaka'ako wants more people to comment on the proposed "Ward Neighborhood" master plan that would dramatically alter much of the area's urban skyline on private land near the waterfront.

The Hawai'i Community Development Authority recently ran newspaper and radio ads asking the public to submit opinions on the plan by the owner of Ward Centers to redevelop 60 acres over roughly 20 years largely with residential and retail buildings, including five towers along Ala Moana opposite Kewalo harbor.

The HCDA also is operating a phone hot line to receive input, and this week mailed 11,000 area residents and business owners a brochure with space for written comments that can be mailed back to the agency postage-paid.

"People need to weigh in," said Anthony Ching, a longtime state planner who joined the agency as executive director six months ago. "It's a legacy issue. It's going to change the neighborhood."

Ching said the agency embarked on the unusual public input campaign at a cost of about $20,000 with the intent to avoid a public outcry like the one that accused the agency of not giving people an opportunity to voice their opinion on building residential high-rises makai of Ala Moana on state land two years ago. Protests and action by the state Legislature killed that project after tentative agency approval.

"If it's a public perception that it's a beauty contest and my vote doesn't count, then we're in trouble," Ching said.

A resolution adopted by the state Senate earlier this year instructed HCDA to provide next year's Legislature a report on what it did to provide the "fullest extent of public review and scrutiny" of its actions on the Ward Neighborhood plan.

Ching, former head of the state Land Use Commission, also said public outreach will allow HCDA staff to better form a position on the project before making a recommendation to the agency's board of directors, who decide whether or not to approve the plan.

General Growth Properties, the Chicago-based owner of Ward Centers and Ala Moana Center, announced details of its Ward Neighborhood plan in April at a public presentation.

The plan calls for as many as 4,300 residential units spread among 20 buildings, with some as high as 400 feet and many with restaurants and retail and entertainment businesses at lower levels.

Retail would continue to be a major presence on the Ward property, with space for about 400 retail tenants, up from about 300 today. Landscaped pedestrian plazas covering about 5 acres are also part of the plan.

The approval being sought would give General Growth a framework for density, height and other limits for the project envisioned to gradually replace all existing structures in the area roughly bounded by Ala Moana, Queen Street, a cluster of blocks just 'ewa of Ward Avenue, and the IBM Building, except for a Whole Foods Market under construction now.

The HCDA held an open house in May to answer questions and present information about the plan, but the turnout was underwhelming. Ching said about 50 people attended, of which probably 40 regularly take interest in HCDA matters.

Considering that 6,100 people live in Kaka'ako, 10 newcomers seeking more information on the Ward plan wasn't much, Ching said.

Nancy Hedlund, a Kaka'ako resident active in HCDA issues, said the agency's outreach effort will be helpful.

"I believe there are very important questions to be addressed that should be the focus of community dialogue," she said. "(The project) will more dramatically change the Kaka'ako area nearest to the mauka side of Ala Moana than any development to date, and yet the community response has been limited."

Hedlund said some community members may feel discouraged from expressing opinions on the Ward plan because they believe that large private landowners with profit-minded redevelopment plans seek pubic input after obtaining commitments for government approvals.

Such was the case with a past plan for 36.5 acres of state land in Kaka'ako makai for which the HCDA solicited development proposals. The agency's board received six proposals and made a preliminary selection of a bid by Alexander & Baldwin Inc. before details of any plan were shared with the public.

The sealed-bid process intended to obtain competitive proposals to benefit the state, but it outraged some residents who said they were asked for comment too late in the process. Some project protesters also said they felt a public hearing by the HCDA to consider allowing residential buildings in Kaka'ako makai wasn't well-publicized, and complained that the agency asked developers to submit bids that included condominiums before agency rules were finalized to allow condos in the area.

Ching noted that the A&B plan was the product of an HCDA-led effort to develop state land, which is one of the agency's purposes. But for the Ward plan, the agency has a regulatory role and isn't advocating for the project.

The HCDA is required to take action on General Growth's plan within 200 days of a complete application being submitted. The submittal was expected this week.

Ching said the agency will accept public comments at least until Aug. 31 but may extend the deadline if necessary. "We will leave time appropriate for people to comment," he said.

After the public comment period and a staff recommendation is crafted and presented to the HCDA board, there will be a public hearing for people to testify in person before the board.

Anne Stevens, chairwoman of the Ala Moana/Kaka'ako Neighborhood Board, said community participation early in the planning process is key to producing redevelopment that isn't largely opposed by residents. "It's so valuable," she said. "I feel the community will at least have the opportunity to participate."

Ching said the public should understand that with or without a master plan, high-rises are an allowed use on the Ward property as part of zoning in Honolulu's urban core. "You're not going to stay at two or three stories," he said. "You're going to go up. It's going to have high-rises, it's going to have density."

General Growth hopes to begin an initial phase of development in 2011 with a central pedestrian plaza replacing old warehouses and Ward Farmers Market up to Auahi Street. The plaza would be extended in a future phase through what is now the middle of Ward Warehouse to Ala Moana.

Other more controversial elements in the plan involve rules governing the size and position of towers.

General Growth is seeking to build residential towers up to 400 feet along Ala Moana, which conforms to present rules that produced nearby 400-foot condos Hokua and Nauru Tower on Ala Moana. But the agency is considering lowering the height limits to 200 feet on Ala Moana.