ALOHA DEFEND OAHU SUPPORTS-

Thanks to everyone who signed our
Call To Action over the past few months.
Your efforts were acknowledged
at the latest meeting of the
State Land Use Commission (LUC).

Last Friday, despite receiving over 1,100
of your Calls to Action and overwhelming
public testimony asking for the issuance of
a motion to show cause,

LUC deferred taking action once again.

This was the 6th time in the past year that Defend Oahu Coalition and their attorneys have been before the LUC asking the commission to issue an order to Kuilima Development Company to show cause as to why 236 acres of land that was reclassified to Urban zoning in 1986, should not revert back to its original Agriculture zoning based on 23 years of inaction by the developer.

Read the latest Honolulu Advertiser article about the meeting: (HERE->)

Please voice your anger and frustration with the LUC in a letter to the editor:

· Advertiser

· Star Bulletin

· Weekly

· North Shore News

Encourage family, friends and neighbors to sign our Call to Action. Stanford Carr and the Land Use Commission need to know that we are not giving up or going away:

Let the LUC know that...

• The 236 acres of property in question should be returned to its original agriculture classification due to decades of inaction by the developer.

• Turtle Bay developers originally presented their timeline in 1986 and promised the state and this community to be finished with the project by 1996. Now, with no new hotels, no additional condominiums, no parks, and no affordable housing we must put an end to the infinite speculation that has occurred under four different resort owners.

• This property has fallen into the limbo of receivership, its ownership is unclear, and there is no money in the current investment market to start or (much less) complete a project of this magnitude. To allow the developer to perpetuate this behavior is to encourage land speculation. Residents no longer want or need this outdated expansion.

• This commission was created to prevent land speculation in Hawai'i. Please carry out your obligation under state law and act in the interest of WE THE PEOPLE.

• This process must move on to the next step. Residents of Ko'olau Loa and the North Shore deserve the chance to give testimony on a project that could severely impact their quality of life.

If you haven't already,
please send testimony to:
luc@dbedt.hawaii.gov
and sign our
CALL TO ACTION to

Mahalo for all your continued support!! Stay strong and positive.

Ko'olau Loa Sustainable Communities Plan Meeting # 2 - Update

The vision of the Ko'olau Loa SCP seeks to preserve the region’s rural character and its natural, scenic and agricultural resources.

This plan is 5 years overdue, this meeting is 3 years in the making and could be the last opportunity for public input before the draft is submitted to the City Council.Let City and County officials know that we want to Keep the Country,COUNTRY by removing the proposed expansion at Turtle Bay from the Sustainable Communities Plan.

A proposed 5 additional hotels and 1000 resort condominiums are not sustainable and will threaten the viability of the existing resort.

For more information:
http://honoluludpp.org/Planning/Koolauloa/Kloa5yr/KloaProjectPage.pdf

 

Update on the Turtle Bay Expansion
(With thanks to Gil Riviere and the Ko'olauloa-North Shore Alliance - KNSAlliance.org)

As 2008 comes to a close, we would like to remind you that the Turtle Bay Resort Expansion controversy is far from resolved. Kuilima Resort Company (KRC) continues to work towards final subdivision approval that could allow them to develop five new hotels and 1000 luxury condos on the rural North Shore. When announced as the Interim Management Officer of KRC, Stanford Carr was thought to be capable of balancing the public’s intense desire to "Keep the Country, COUNTRY!", with the creditors’ interest in getting out of foreclosure. That “spin” may have been overly optimistic as he is clearly following his fiduciary responsibility of maximizing the resort’s value with no compromise in sight. The current Turtle Bay Resort has become successful in the last couple years because it has been correctly marketed as a rural destination on 880 acres of the pristine North Shore. If anyone tells you TBR is doing poorly, remind them that TBR is doing better than most of the Waikiki hotels during these difficult times. Several important efforts are underway to help preserve the rural character of the North Shore, but the work is not yet done. Your help is vital!

Governor's Turtle Bay Initiative

In January 2008, the Governor boldly suggested that the state could help organize a public-private partnership to preserve the lands around the Turtle Bay Resort and to assure long term health of the existing resort. With much fanfare, the Turtle Bay Advisory Working Group was convened to develop a solution. The Group recently met to discuss options and the Governor's office released a statement mentioning two recent failed bids to purchase the undeveloped property surrounding the resort. The Governor’s State of the State Address is coming up in January. Send an email to the Governor encouraging her to keep the preservation of Turtle Bay a priority in 2009.

Defend Oahu Coalition’s Challenge of the 1986 Conditional Land Use Change

Defend Oahu Coalition filed a motion with the State Land Use Commission (LUC) to order the developer to show cause as to why 236 acres of the resort property should not be returned to its original agriculture classification after 22 years of inaction. The LUC plans to hold its third meeting on this issue in early February at a time and place to be determined. Please send an email to the LUC to request the hearing be held on the North Shore, preferably in the evening, so that the maximum number of concerned residents can participate. It will be imperative to have a strong showing because KRC is trotting out hotel management personnel as area residents who support the expansion. Click here to read the Defend Oahu Coalition position paper.

City and Country of Honolulu

It is time to remind the Mayor and the City Council that the public does not want large scale expansion of the Turtle Bay Resort. Serious issues with traffic, affordable housing and poorly maintained infrastructure will worsen with expansion. It is time for our leaders to walk the talk and help Keep the Country, COUNTRY! Send a message to the Mayor Send a message to all of the City Council Members

Keep the North Shore Country’s Legal Challenge for a Supplemental EIS

Keep the North Shore Country recently filed a motion to prevent the City and County of Honolulu from issuing Final Subdivision Approval until the legal questions over the need for a SEIS are decided. These injunction requests are very difficult to win and the court denied the motion. Oral arguments on the need for a SEIS were held at the Hawaii State Intermediate Court of Appeals on April 9, 2008, but the court has not yet ruled. KRC received Tentative Subdivision Approval on September 29, 2006 and has received three extensions to complete the conditions necessary for Final Subdivision Approval. To qualify for the latest extension, KRC had to show that they were moving forward on the resort expansion. The construction project to expand Kuilima Drive to four lanes is probably the simplest way for them to go through the minimum motions to buy more time for their grand plan. Go to www.keepthenorthshorecountry.org for more information.

Nothing great ever comes easy! We are at a critical moment in time; whatever ends up happening on the North Shore now will have lasting repercussions for all of Oahu. Please take the time – right now - to send emails to our elected leaders and pass this on to your friends. Stay Active!