Controversial Gondola and Zipline on Mt. Kaala
Turtle Bay Resort Conservation and Unilateral Development Agreements
Turtle Bay Resort has been sold to two development and hotel groups
Blackstone Real Estate has sold the Turtle Bay Resort to Host Hotels & Resorts after recently selling 65 acres in a separate transaction to Areté Collective. The hotel has been re-branded as a Ritz Carlton and the Host Group retains interests for future construction of 375 time share units on the H1 hotel site west of the existing hotel.
Areté purchased land and interests to develop 100 resort residential units on RR3, the coastal land in the Kahuku Point direction. They are moving forward with plans to construct the first four of 19 multi-unit condo buildings. Areté also own the land and interests for a 250 unit condo hotel on hotel site H2, and a parcel near the 18th green where they may build a new golf clubhouse.
The total number of new resort units that can be built is 725, as stipulated in the landmark conservation agreement which reduced development rights by 80 percent. In 1986, the owners entered into a Unilateral Agreement (UA) with the City and County of Honolulu to build five new hotels and thousands of resort condominiums, totaling 3500 units, from Kawela Bay to Kahuku Point.
After our successful Supreme Court victory regarding the antiquated 20 year old Environmental Impact Statement, our challenge to the developer's Supplemental EIS, a foreclosure from Oaktree Development, productive community engagement from Replay Resorts, a multimillion dollar agreement with the State of Hawaii and C&C of Honolulu and US Army, the settlement of our, and Sierra Club's, legal claims, the conservation deal dramatically reduced a terrible, outdated development plan from decades earlier.
Out of these agreements, all of the undeveloped land a Kawela Bay will be either city or state land, development is prohibited on nearly 700 acres of land, the North Shore Community Land Trust began its excellent conservation work at Kahuku Point, the Kahuku High Golf team is guaranteed privileges and all original UA commitments remain.
What is not yet resolved is how to update the obsolete Unilateral Agreement, which of the two companies is responsible for fulfilling the commitments of the UA, and exactly what combination of resort units may get built.
All Challenges to Na Pua Makani Now Exhausted
Our legal challenge of the DPP decision to allow two wind turbines to be built within the minimum setback area near Kahuku has come to an end. In a 4-1 decision, the Hawaii Supreme Court declined to hear our case. The Intermediate Court of Appeals had affirmed the lower court's decision to deny our case, which began six years ago. That then, is the final word.
We learned in December 2019 that Na Pua Makani had been granted permission to build two of their eight turbines as close as 275 and 355 feet from the property line, even though the law requires a minimum setback of 568 (the turbine height). Since the decision had been made more than 30 days before we found out about it, the courts refused to consider our objection.
The lack of transparency on DPP decisions is a big problem and needs to be corrected. KNSC has advocated and will continue to advocate for public posting of city decisions on conditional use permits, waivers and exemptions. It would not be hard to do and would help the public stay informed of important decisions that could adversely affect their communities. Another example of this lack of transparency is the unpublished approval of the proposed gondola on the side of Mt. Kaala.
Our legal challenge of Na Pua Makani's EIS ended in 2022 when the Supreme Court ruled against us. There are not other active actions regarding Na Pua Makani. More detals and background of these cases can be found in News and Legal Docs.
To preserve, protect and enhance the heritage and rural character of the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, in partnership with communities from Kaena Point to Kahaluu.
Keep the North Shore Country (KNSC), in partnership with Sierra Club, Hawaii Chapter, dozens of communities and organizations and, ultimately, Turtle Bay Resort (TBR), the State of Hawaii, the City and County of Honolulu, the US Army, the Trust for Public Land (TPL), and the North Shore Community Land Trust (NSCLT) successfully altered a massive development plan into more than 1100 acres of coastal and agricultural land conservation, preservation of Kawela Bay and improved environmental stewardship at Kahuku Point.
In 2015, KNSC negotiated a settlement with TBR, whereby the resort would complete the conservation agreement, provide $200,000 over five years to NSCLT for conservation projects at Kahuku Point and allow KNSC first right to conservation of other valuable shoreline lands owned by the resort.
We continue to work with the other parties to increase land conservation and to follow our mission: To preserve and enhance the heritage and rural character of the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, in partnership with communities from Kaena Point to Kahaluu.
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