Honolulu's planned $5.4 billion commuter train won't be pulling into East Kapolei until late 2013 at the earliest.

However, the character of communities surrounding the area's three planned stations will depend in part on the outcome of a series of community meetings that start this week. Community members attending that workshop will hear presentations about the train, which is expected to support a city growth policy that directs development to the 'Ewa plain. Attendees then will be asked to provide input that will be used to tailor rules governing housing density, parking and pedestrian amenities around train stations planned for Kapolei.

Those rules are key because the system's stations, which will be capable of moving about 6,000 passengers an hour in each direction, are expected to become hubs for housing, business and employment. The creation of so-called "walkable" communities around the stations could spur land values and real estate development.

The more people participate in developing those rules the better, said Honolulu City Council Chairman Todd Apo.

"Transit-oriented development really sets out the future," he said. "People need to participate. People need to come in and talk about what they see is the future of West O'ahu."

The city's goal is to foster transit lifestyles and higher-density developments near train stations, which could curb urban sprawl.

Later this month, the City Council is expected to pass Bill 10, which establishes the process for creating transit-oriented development zoning regulations around stations.

The bill would essentially create special districts with specific community-tailored rules. Those rules would be designed to:

• Enable a mix of land uses and higher-density housing.

• Encourage travel by rail transit, buses, walking, bicycling and other non-automobile forms of transportation.

• Eliminate or reduce minimum off-street parking requirements to spur residents and others to use mass transit.

The scale of transit-related economic development also could depend heavily on the availability of other landowner incentives such as property tax breaks, revenue bonds and tax increment financing.

The city's timeline calls for service between West Loch and Waipahu to start in late 2013 and full service to Ala Moana by the end of 2018. The train's first stop would be in Kapolei next to the Kroc Center. The second stop would be near the planned University of Hawai'i-West O'ahu campus, while the third stop would be in the heart of the planned Ho'opili community.

Kapolei is the second major community to start the transit-oriented development planning process. The same process started in Waipahu a year ago. On Tuesday, the city will hold a separate community workshop in Waipahu on a draft transit-oriented development plan for the area's two stations.

That plan will be a compilation of community input received so far, said Kathy Sokugawa, chief planner for the city Department of Planing and Permitting. The plan attempts to balance the needs of residents, developers and landowners, she said. It still needs to go before the city planning commission and the City Council before becoming official.

In Kapolei, the city has a nearly clean slate to work with. That's because land near the three stations currently consists mainly of empty fields, unlike the stations planned for urban Honolulu, said council member Gary Okino, chair of the Transportation and Planning Committee.

"Other areas will be a little bit tough because you've got to work with development that's already in place," he said.

In Kapolei, "you're starting from a blank slate, so it's a great opportunity to do something really good," Okino added.