2015
Settlement Announced
Saturday March 07, 2015
Subject to Turtle Bay Resort completing the pending Conservation Easement, KNSC with concurrence of Sierra Club, Hawaii Chapter, have agreed to settle our lawsuit on the Supplemental EIS with TBR. Neither side concedes any of the legal questions that were raised in the case, and both sides agree this is the best way to ensure significant reductions in proposed development.
KNSC strongly supports the Conservation Easement (CE) which will forever remove 80 percent of the TBR lands from the possibility of development. The State, City, TBR, and Trust for Public Land are performing due diligence to complete the details that will be enshrined in the CE. Ongoing litigation would have effectively prevented the CE from closing.
Per the agreement, KNSC will not oppose TBR's plans for up to 625 hotel units or 100 residential units, however, we retain an option to purchase, through December 31, 2017, a conservation easement on the land proposed for residential units. This option allows further discussion for preservation of much of the coastal area between the existing hotel and Kahuku Point. No construction can begin on this parcel during this option period.
Other terms of the agreement require TBR to donate $200,000 over the next five years for predator control, endangered species and critical habitat protection. North Shore Community Land Trust will participate in management of these efforts. TBR will also contribute $35,000 to partially cover legal expenses incurred by KNSC.
The Directors of KNSC would like to acknowledge the fine work of our legal team, particularly Phil Brown and Rory Wicks, whose expertise, persistence and wise counsel made this possible. Special thanks also go to Former Justice Jim Duffy who calmly and skillfully managed the mediation of this complex litigation.
We have come a long way since 2006 when the developers were poised to build five hotels and 3500 resort units along five miles of spectacular coastal land from Kawela Bay to Kahuku Point. We are now on the verge of witnessing permanent preservation of 666 acres of resort land, in addition to 459 acres of mauka farm land that could have been converted to future development had the original plans proceeded. This was made possible through vast public support, hard work by many committed individuals and the ongoing support of our many financial supporters and volunteers like you.
Mahalo Nui.
Keep the North Shore Country Directors
Gil Riviere, Lucky Cole, Laura Moritz