top of page

Sign Waving this Sunday    Public Meeting on Wednesday
Click Here for Details

News Reports on June 29 Sign Waving

KHON Report on Signwaving.png
KHON
HNN Report on Signwaving.png
Hawaii News Now

North Shore News - July Issue

NSNews - June 3 P1.png

Kūpaʻa Kaʻala Alliance

"We stand firmly against the exploitation and misuse of agricultural lands. We are dedicated to protecting the Waiʻanae mountain range and the slopes of Mt. Kaʻala from Kamananui to Kaʻena. We are committed to preserving our natural resources, and cultural and historical heritage." 

Defend O'ahu Coalition
Hawaiiʻs Thousand Friends
Hui o Kamananui
Keep the Country Country
Keep the North Shore Country
Kahuku Community Association
Ka Pā Hula O Ka Lei Lehua
Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation
Kū Kiaʻi Mauna Kaʻala
Kūpaʻa Kuilima
Lāhui Foundation
Life of the Land
Mālama Loko Ea Foundation
Mālama Pūpūkea-Waimea

Mokuleia Community Association
Ola Kamananui LLC
Paoakalani Foundation
Sierra Club, Hawaiʻi Chapter
Sunset Beach Community Association
Surfrider Foundation Oʻahu Chapter
Waialua Community Association
Waialua Hawaiian Civic Club

Gondola and Zipline on Mount Kaala
(aka Kamananui Agribusiness)

Kamananui Gondola.png

Images from Kamananui Minor Modification to Conditional Use Permit (Minor) Application

A Canadian investor with connections to Whistler Mountain in British Columbia is planning to build an aerial tramway, or gondola, along with a powered zipline chair ride on agricultural lands he acquired from Dole Foods several years ago.  The project called Kamananui would be built on parts of 2300 acres of valley and hillside lands between Kaukonahua Road and Mount Kaala. The project would include a visitor center, hiking and biking trails and some elements labeled agricultural.

There are many problems with this project, besides that fact that few people want a major tourist attraction on the dangerous, narrow Kaukonahua Rd, or mechanized joy rides up the side of Mt. Kaala. Rather than admit that the primary purpose of this project is to generate money from tourist attractions, the developer is exploiting zoning laws by calling the project an agribusiness operation. The underlying permit is based on the premise that the agribusiness operations are secondary and accessory to a primary agricultural activity.

 

The Conditional Use Permit, Minor, that could permit this enterprise, was approved by the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting in 2019.  The approval has many conditions that have not been fulfilled like the establishment of agroforestry and koa planting on 933 acres.  A major condition of approval is that more than half of the land must be placing in active agriculture.  Six year later, Kamananui have achieved 51.5 acres of koa plantings and they want to abandon the remaining forestry commitment.

Other major concerns are that there has been no environmental assessment or EIS, no community presentations and the projected visitor numbers are suspiciously low, conveniently avoiding consideration of a wastewater treatment plant that is most likely warranted. 

 

Kamananui has now applied to modify its agritourism permit in seven ways:

  1. Modified Gondola Route and Stations to Lower Elevations (Consolidates the cafe and upper station commercial activities.) 

  2. Modified Zipline Size and Location (Changing to an electric chair ride, more commercial activity at top)

  3. Modified Hiking and Biking Trails and Related Accessibility Features (Centralization as in 1 and 2)

  4. Modified Agribusiness Structures (Deletes forestry, expands grazing and land conservation labels) 

  5. Modification of Top Station and Mid Station Layouts and Design 

  6. Modification to Approved Composting Toilet Facilities (Better toilets and facilities at top station and cafe)

  7. Joint Development Agreement and Incorporation of Adjacent Parcel for Enhanced Access and Driveway Improvements (Original visitor center entrance was in a worse location than this option) 

With only two days public notice after the KHON news report from Nikki Shenfeld, 128 pieces of public testimony were submitted.  Keep the North Shore Country has been following this project since the beginning, but there has been little opportunity to weigh in.  We submitted our serious concerns about the lack of study and protections for endanger species know to be in the area (here), and a more thorough list of concerns specific to the modification application (here).

This project should not have been approved a minor conditional use; the impacts are not insignificant.  The tourism activities are not secondary and accessory to agriculture; they are indisputably the primary enterprise on this agricultural land.  An EIS is needed to address potential impacts on endangered species, traffic volumes and movements, wastewater disposal, and protection of historical sites in the valley.

DPP must reject the modification application to the existing "minor" permit and require a new major Conditional Use Permit, EIS, and community engagement.  

News and Events

Community Meeting on June 3, 2025
6 pm, Waialua High and Intermediate School Cafeteria


   Hawaii News Now Report
KHON2 News Report
KITV What's the Scoops


    Presentation       Take the Survey

June 29 Sign Waving Event

KHON - Mt Kaala.png

Watch KHON2 News
on the project modification

(May 19, 2025)
 

bottom of page