Hawaii Business Magazine
By George R. Ariyoshi, Governor of Hawaii 1973-1986
The public announcement of the plan to build five hotels around Turtle Bay was accompanied by a commitment "to keeping the country, country."
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Sunday, May 28, 2006
The country’s last resort
As Turtle Bay Resort pursues expansion, the surrounding community already feels the impact
Honolulu Weekly
by Catharine Lo
Apr 26, 2006
In the early- to mid-1900s, life in Kahuku was simple but not easy. Workers spent long, hot days hauling cane from the fields. The regular hum of the sugar mill, the real and representative heart of town, marked the passage of time as surely as the sunrise. Trucks rattled, roosters crowed and dust settled on the modest furnishings in the breezy plantation homes. The community was the product of their collective work ethic: steadfast and tight. The sugar mill had a movie theater, shops and a clubhouse. At the end of the day, people gathered with family and friends. This was life in the country.
Honolulu Weekly
by Catharine Lo
Apr 26, 2006
In the early- to mid-1900s, life in Kahuku was simple but not easy. Workers spent long, hot days hauling cane from the fields. The regular hum of the sugar mill, the real and representative heart of town, marked the passage of time as surely as the sunrise. Trucks rattled, roosters crowed and dust settled on the modest furnishings in the breezy plantation homes. The community was the product of their collective work ethic: steadfast and tight. The sugar mill had a movie theater, shops and a clubhouse. At the end of the day, people gathered with family and friends. This was life in the country.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
People should vote on Turtle Bay expansion
Honolulu Star Bulletin
May 27, 2006
I feel the Turtle Bay 5 hotel project should be decided at the polls. This is an island issue that affects all of Oahu and its people. We are dealing with some very serious issues here that could adversely effect the entire island. Be smart and do what's right for the people of Oahu, not rich developers from the cement jungle of the mainland who care only about filling their bank accounts.
Joseph Grassadonia
Editor in chief
OnFitness Magazine
Part-time Hawaii resident
May 27, 2006
I feel the Turtle Bay 5 hotel project should be decided at the polls. This is an island issue that affects all of Oahu and its people. We are dealing with some very serious issues here that could adversely effect the entire island. Be smart and do what's right for the people of Oahu, not rich developers from the cement jungle of the mainland who care only about filling their bank accounts.
Joseph Grassadonia
Editor in chief
OnFitness Magazine
Part-time Hawaii resident
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Nothing means nothing to developers
Honolulu Star Bulletin
May 23, 2006
I learned something interesting from Corky's cartoon of May 21, in which protesters of North Shore development are asked if they live there, and they reply, "Nah, there's nothing there."
In other words, if the land is covered with condos, malls and freeways, then there would be "something" worthwhile. To the pro-development crowd, a natural area is "nothing."
Thanks, Corky, for the education, I always wondered what made developers tick, other than greed.
Pat Caldwell
Kailua
May 23, 2006
I learned something interesting from Corky's cartoon of May 21, in which protesters of North Shore development are asked if they live there, and they reply, "Nah, there's nothing there."
In other words, if the land is covered with condos, malls and freeways, then there would be "something" worthwhile. To the pro-development crowd, a natural area is "nothing."
Thanks, Corky, for the education, I always wondered what made developers tick, other than greed.
Pat Caldwell
Kailua
More development will ruin North Shore
Honolulu Star Bulletin
May 23, 2006
I write to voice my deep concern about the proposed development at Turtle Bay. Our island already has been overdeveloped. We need to preserve Oahu's few rural areas. Many visitors now prefer to go to the neighbor islands. Visitors to Oahu (and residents!) want to experience the natural beauty of our island, and the North Shore is one of the last unspoiled places. Not only would this massive development dramatically mar the landscape it also would endanger our wetlands and wildlife.
Some experts believe we already have exceeded the number of cars, sewage, power, etc. this island can sustain. Look around. Do we really need more hotels? Or do we need to preserve the small amount of remaining undeveloped areas?
This is an opportunity finally to do the right thing. Let's think about our grandchildren and the future of our precious island.
Patty Henshaw
Kailua
May 23, 2006
I write to voice my deep concern about the proposed development at Turtle Bay. Our island already has been overdeveloped. We need to preserve Oahu's few rural areas. Many visitors now prefer to go to the neighbor islands. Visitors to Oahu (and residents!) want to experience the natural beauty of our island, and the North Shore is one of the last unspoiled places. Not only would this massive development dramatically mar the landscape it also would endanger our wetlands and wildlife.
Some experts believe we already have exceeded the number of cars, sewage, power, etc. this island can sustain. Look around. Do we really need more hotels? Or do we need to preserve the small amount of remaining undeveloped areas?
This is an opportunity finally to do the right thing. Let's think about our grandchildren and the future of our precious island.
Patty Henshaw
Kailua
North Shore Turtle Bay expansion is out of character
Honolulu Advertiser
May 21, 2006
As a longtime North Shore resident, I remember well when Buddy Ako and his group of 50 or 60 pushed through the approvals for expansion of Turtle Bay in the mid-1980s. It was not clear then that his group and its dream represented the majority of North Shore residents. Today, it is clear that they do not.
The North Shore stretches roughly from Kahuku to Mokule'ia and encompasses a diverse population. But the heart of it is the surf and ocean recreation-oriented population that stretches from Hale'iwa to Sunset Beach. These are the people who will be most impacted by the negative side effects of a large resort expansion — increased traffic, rising housing costs, etc. And these are the people who have a very different dream for the future of the North Shore than Mr. Ako.
At every public forum on the issue, the overwhelming opposition to the massive resort expansion has been clear. It is not about keeping people out, it is about sustaining a character and lifestyle that draw visitors from around the world and attracted most of the current residents to live here.
Mr. Ako needs to listen to the broader community and accept the political process, even though that means rejection of his dream.
Jim Richardson
North Shore
May 21, 2006
As a longtime North Shore resident, I remember well when Buddy Ako and his group of 50 or 60 pushed through the approvals for expansion of Turtle Bay in the mid-1980s. It was not clear then that his group and its dream represented the majority of North Shore residents. Today, it is clear that they do not.
The North Shore stretches roughly from Kahuku to Mokule'ia and encompasses a diverse population. But the heart of it is the surf and ocean recreation-oriented population that stretches from Hale'iwa to Sunset Beach. These are the people who will be most impacted by the negative side effects of a large resort expansion — increased traffic, rising housing costs, etc. And these are the people who have a very different dream for the future of the North Shore than Mr. Ako.
At every public forum on the issue, the overwhelming opposition to the massive resort expansion has been clear. It is not about keeping people out, it is about sustaining a character and lifestyle that draw visitors from around the world and attracted most of the current residents to live here.
Mr. Ako needs to listen to the broader community and accept the political process, even though that means rejection of his dream.
Jim Richardson
North Shore
Expansion follows pattern for owners
Honolulu Advertiser
Mar 8, 2006
The owners of the Turtle Bay Resort, who said yesterday they plan to develop five new hotels and as many as 1,000 new condominium units at the site, have a history of investing in distressed properties in Hawai'i. More info...
Mar 8, 2006
The owners of the Turtle Bay Resort, who said yesterday they plan to develop five new hotels and as many as 1,000 new condominium units at the site, have a history of investing in distressed properties in Hawai'i. More info...
Turtle Bay Resort needs area support
Honolulu Advertiser
Mar 8, 2006
Local tourism executives say the key to success of expansion at the Turtle Bay Resort will be community support More info...
Mar 8, 2006
Local tourism executives say the key to success of expansion at the Turtle Bay Resort will be community support More info...
Promise of jobs doesn't sway everyone
Honolulu Advertiser
Mar 8, 2006
For many, reaction to Turtle Bay Resort's expansion plans comes down to two competing issues: the need for more jobs versus the fear of rampant development. More info...
Mar 8, 2006
For many, reaction to Turtle Bay Resort's expansion plans comes down to two competing issues: the need for more jobs versus the fear of rampant development. More info...
Turtle Bay planning five hotels, 3,500 rooms
Honolulu Advertiser
By Will Hoover
Advertiser North Shore Writer
Developers of the Turtle Bay Resort yesterday outlined plans for five new hotels with 3,500 rooms and condominium units that would transform the area. More info...
Area residents debate Turtle Bay expansion
Posting several articles from the past few months from the local media concerning the Turtle Bay Resort expansion plans and the community response.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Honolulu Advertiser
HAU'ULA — About 200 people filled a school cafeteria last night to hear and discuss plans for a large-scale expansion of the Turtle Bay Resort, with the crowd appearing to be evenly split between supporters and opponents. More info...
Friday, April 14, 2006
Honolulu Advertiser
HAU'ULA — About 200 people filled a school cafeteria last night to hear and discuss plans for a large-scale expansion of the Turtle Bay Resort, with the crowd appearing to be evenly split between supporters and opponents. More info...
Community at large against development
I am compelled to respond to the May 15 commentary, "Keeping it country can mean keep out."
Twenty years ago, the decision-making government agencies focused on the plantation workers and the unions and ignored the input of the community at large. The latter, in a survey conducted five years earlier by SMS Research, clearly supported the preservation of the rural nature and lifestyle of the Ko'olauloa area.
The communities of Hau'ula, Punalu'u and Ka'a'awa as well as Keep the Country Country Inc., a citizens group for sensible growth, presented arguments warning of negative social and cultural impacts of large resort development on the North Shore of O'ahu.
They also cautioned that such development would have serious effects on the two-lane Kamehameha Highway from Kahuku to Kahalu'u and Kahuku to Hale'iwa. They were concerned about impacts on the water supply, on the shoreline and on educational, health, police, fire and emergency services. They were concerned not only for Kahuku but for all the communities from Kahalu'u through the North Shore.
Today, the lifestyle of not only our "new friends and neighbors" but of our families in Ko'olauloa who go back many generations is being threatened. The monetary value placed on real estate is making it more difficult for our people to remain here.
Other developments on Maui, Hawai'i and Kaua'i have been displacing the people of those lands. These areas have new communities with replacement populations.
We should not let this happen in Ko'olauloa.
Creighton Ualani Mattoon Sr.
President, Punalu'u Community Association
Twenty years ago, the decision-making government agencies focused on the plantation workers and the unions and ignored the input of the community at large. The latter, in a survey conducted five years earlier by SMS Research, clearly supported the preservation of the rural nature and lifestyle of the Ko'olauloa area.
The communities of Hau'ula, Punalu'u and Ka'a'awa as well as Keep the Country Country Inc., a citizens group for sensible growth, presented arguments warning of negative social and cultural impacts of large resort development on the North Shore of O'ahu.
They also cautioned that such development would have serious effects on the two-lane Kamehameha Highway from Kahuku to Kahalu'u and Kahuku to Hale'iwa. They were concerned about impacts on the water supply, on the shoreline and on educational, health, police, fire and emergency services. They were concerned not only for Kahuku but for all the communities from Kahalu'u through the North Shore.
Today, the lifestyle of not only our "new friends and neighbors" but of our families in Ko'olauloa who go back many generations is being threatened. The monetary value placed on real estate is making it more difficult for our people to remain here.
Other developments on Maui, Hawai'i and Kaua'i have been displacing the people of those lands. These areas have new communities with replacement populations.
We should not let this happen in Ko'olauloa.
Creighton Ualani Mattoon Sr.
President, Punalu'u Community Association
'Keeping it country' can mean 'keep out'
Honolulu Advertiser
By Buddy Ako
As a long-time Kahuku resident who has lived my entire life in the area, I think I know something about the country.
Like my friends who have made our homes here for decades, I have seen good times and bad, shared joy and sadness with my neighbors and watched dreams grow and fade away.
My Kahuku neighbors and I had a dream in the 1980s. We dreamed that when Kahuku Sugar Mill closed and hundreds of jobs were lost, Kahuku's future would not be lost, too.
Dozens of us met each month from 1983 to 1986 on a Turtle Bay Resort expansion plan to sustain Kahuku as a place to live, work and play in the country. Fulfilling our dream would be a way to avoid moving to town to find a job.
To us, more hotel rooms meant more jobs —not just in housekeeping, but also in the front office, in restaurants and shops, at the golf course and on the beach. We made sure at least half the new rooms would be full-service units to ensure a certain level of job creation.
We didn't stop there. We guaranteed that the landowner and all future landowners would have to honor a unilateral agreement calling for more beach access than ever — public parks right on the ocean with parking and amenities, miles of trails along the entire 5-mile length of the beach and multiple beach access points.
The agreement guaranteed that new housing would be built at prices many of us in Kahuku could afford. We stipulated that any future developer would have to satisfy our concerns over water availability, sewage treatment, archaeological preservation, landscaping, traffic mitigation and preserving the country character of the project.
We celebrated when first the state Land Use Commission and then the City Council approved measures to allow the resort's expansion. Our group of 50 to 60 — residents from the region, community organizations, businesses and the developer — continued to meet monthly from 1986 to 1995 to keep our dream on track.
It wasn't easy. We all know what the 1990s were like for our entire state. Landowners came and went as the economy suffered, but our dream to eventually enjoy the promised benefits never went away. We nurtured our Kahuku dream through the tough times in that decade and again after 9/11.
Our dream has matured steadily over the past 20 years and today is closer to being realized than most people know. But now, some are telling us our 20-year dream is too old. People who've lived here for fewer years than the dream has been alive tell us we don't need that dream anymore, that our ideas are out of step with the times. I say they're wrong. I say our dream is more alive than ever, stronger than ever and more certain than ever to come true.
My newest neighbors may not like it, but we took steps in the 1980s to be sure our hopes could not be dashed by those with no memory of our hardships.
That was an ordinance the City Council approved in the 1980s. Landowners over the years have relied on it, have abided by its conditions and have invested tens of millions of dollars toward the goal of expanding and improving the resort.
You don't just decide one day that the ordinance our dream created is irrelevant. Like it our not, our Unilateral Agreement is binding and those who worked for years to sustain it are committed to helping everyone else understand that fact.
Kuilima Resort Co. has been making presentations throughout the North Shore about the plan that was approved by the community and city, but almost without exception, audiences rarely have heard what was said. To us, their demand to "keep the country country" sounds more like "now that we're here, keep everyone else out!"
I'd like these new friends and neighbors to know that it's our country, too. They need to know that people were dreaming about economic sustainability long before many of them even knew where our country was.
So I say to our old and new neighbors in a kindly way, let's proceed together. I firmly believe we can preserve what we all love about the country even as our kids and grandkids anticipate a future that allows them to live and work here, too.
Without the people who made Kahuku and the North Shore what it is, the country really wouldn't be worth keeping.
Buddy Ako, a lifelong resident of Hau'ula and Kahuku, is a board member of the Kahuku Community Association and the Elderly Kahuku Housing Foundation. He is a past president of Kahuku Hospital and is employed by Kuilima Resort Company. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.
By Buddy Ako
As a long-time Kahuku resident who has lived my entire life in the area, I think I know something about the country.
Like my friends who have made our homes here for decades, I have seen good times and bad, shared joy and sadness with my neighbors and watched dreams grow and fade away.
My Kahuku neighbors and I had a dream in the 1980s. We dreamed that when Kahuku Sugar Mill closed and hundreds of jobs were lost, Kahuku's future would not be lost, too.
Dozens of us met each month from 1983 to 1986 on a Turtle Bay Resort expansion plan to sustain Kahuku as a place to live, work and play in the country. Fulfilling our dream would be a way to avoid moving to town to find a job.
To us, more hotel rooms meant more jobs —not just in housekeeping, but also in the front office, in restaurants and shops, at the golf course and on the beach. We made sure at least half the new rooms would be full-service units to ensure a certain level of job creation.
We didn't stop there. We guaranteed that the landowner and all future landowners would have to honor a unilateral agreement calling for more beach access than ever — public parks right on the ocean with parking and amenities, miles of trails along the entire 5-mile length of the beach and multiple beach access points.
The agreement guaranteed that new housing would be built at prices many of us in Kahuku could afford. We stipulated that any future developer would have to satisfy our concerns over water availability, sewage treatment, archaeological preservation, landscaping, traffic mitigation and preserving the country character of the project.
We celebrated when first the state Land Use Commission and then the City Council approved measures to allow the resort's expansion. Our group of 50 to 60 — residents from the region, community organizations, businesses and the developer — continued to meet monthly from 1986 to 1995 to keep our dream on track.
It wasn't easy. We all know what the 1990s were like for our entire state. Landowners came and went as the economy suffered, but our dream to eventually enjoy the promised benefits never went away. We nurtured our Kahuku dream through the tough times in that decade and again after 9/11.
Our dream has matured steadily over the past 20 years and today is closer to being realized than most people know. But now, some are telling us our 20-year dream is too old. People who've lived here for fewer years than the dream has been alive tell us we don't need that dream anymore, that our ideas are out of step with the times. I say they're wrong. I say our dream is more alive than ever, stronger than ever and more certain than ever to come true.
My newest neighbors may not like it, but we took steps in the 1980s to be sure our hopes could not be dashed by those with no memory of our hardships.
That was an ordinance the City Council approved in the 1980s. Landowners over the years have relied on it, have abided by its conditions and have invested tens of millions of dollars toward the goal of expanding and improving the resort.
You don't just decide one day that the ordinance our dream created is irrelevant. Like it our not, our Unilateral Agreement is binding and those who worked for years to sustain it are committed to helping everyone else understand that fact.
Kuilima Resort Co. has been making presentations throughout the North Shore about the plan that was approved by the community and city, but almost without exception, audiences rarely have heard what was said. To us, their demand to "keep the country country" sounds more like "now that we're here, keep everyone else out!"
I'd like these new friends and neighbors to know that it's our country, too. They need to know that people were dreaming about economic sustainability long before many of them even knew where our country was.
So I say to our old and new neighbors in a kindly way, let's proceed together. I firmly believe we can preserve what we all love about the country even as our kids and grandkids anticipate a future that allows them to live and work here, too.
Without the people who made Kahuku and the North Shore what it is, the country really wouldn't be worth keeping.
Buddy Ako, a lifelong resident of Hau'ula and Kahuku, is a board member of the Kahuku Community Association and the Elderly Kahuku Housing Foundation. He is a past president of Kahuku Hospital and is employed by Kuilima Resort Company. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Second suit filed against Turtle Bay
Honolulu Advertiser
A newly formed North Shore residents group and the Sierra Club's Hawai'i chapter filed suit yesterday - against the city and the company that is planning a major expansion of the Turtle Bay Resort - asking for a new environmental impact statement to add to one done 20 years ago. More info...
A newly formed North Shore residents group and the Sierra Club's Hawai'i chapter filed suit yesterday - against the city and the company that is planning a major expansion of the Turtle Bay Resort - asking for a new environmental impact statement to add to one done 20 years ago. More info...
Monday, May 22, 2006
Oahu under seige: North Shore being threatened by development
Surfline
Pending official status, the arduous liberation of the Paumalu - Pupukea Bluffs parcel from offshore corporate owners was a monumental victory for the residents of Oahu and surfers from around the globe. All of us who have had the privilege of riding waves on the North Shore must take a step back and fully appreciate the true significance of this event. It took an enormous, concerted effort to prevail and kudos to all who contributed. However, by no means is the battle over.
More info at... Surfline
Pending official status, the arduous liberation of the Paumalu - Pupukea Bluffs parcel from offshore corporate owners was a monumental victory for the residents of Oahu and surfers from around the globe. All of us who have had the privilege of riding waves on the North Shore must take a step back and fully appreciate the true significance of this event. It took an enormous, concerted effort to prevail and kudos to all who contributed. However, by no means is the battle over.
More info at... Surfline
Tourism sets aside local population
Honolulu Star Bulletin
Cynthia Oi's column ("'Waimanalo Blues' heard all over Oahu," Under the Sun, May 10) should be mandatory reading for all of our elected representatives and all of those in the city and state planning and permitting offices.
Her summary of the Hawaii Tourism Authority survey showing that a "definite majority of residents think that the islands are being run for tourists at the expense of local people" fits to a "T" the current development embroglio here on the North Shore.
My wife and I recently met with some New Zealand friends who have many years in the hospitality business there, staying in Waikiki on their second trip in about 10 years, and listened to their valid complaint that there did not seem to be any bar or restaurant that catered to residents. It seems as though most businesses in Waikiki are devoted to wringing the last dollar from tourists. It seems as though with 7 million-plus visitors each year, it doesn't matter if they don't return.
Now that Waikiki has succumbed to the lure of the dollar, with Kapolei well on the way as a "destination resort" to the same fate, it is imperative that the brakes immediately be placed on all hotel and resort development proposed for the North Shore. The cry to "keep the country country" must be heeded.
Ross McGerty
Waialua
Cynthia Oi's column ("'Waimanalo Blues' heard all over Oahu," Under the Sun, May 10) should be mandatory reading for all of our elected representatives and all of those in the city and state planning and permitting offices.
Her summary of the Hawaii Tourism Authority survey showing that a "definite majority of residents think that the islands are being run for tourists at the expense of local people" fits to a "T" the current development embroglio here on the North Shore.
My wife and I recently met with some New Zealand friends who have many years in the hospitality business there, staying in Waikiki on their second trip in about 10 years, and listened to their valid complaint that there did not seem to be any bar or restaurant that catered to residents. It seems as though most businesses in Waikiki are devoted to wringing the last dollar from tourists. It seems as though with 7 million-plus visitors each year, it doesn't matter if they don't return.
Now that Waikiki has succumbed to the lure of the dollar, with Kapolei well on the way as a "destination resort" to the same fate, it is imperative that the brakes immediately be placed on all hotel and resort development proposed for the North Shore. The cry to "keep the country country" must be heeded.
Ross McGerty
Waialua
North Shore development: Keep the discussion on civil level
Honolulu Advertiser
After the recent heavy rains, anyone on a peaceful walk up to the falls in Waimea Valley on O'ahu (no more of those ghastly buses) could witness a spectacular cascade of crystal-clear water into the pool below.
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is taking title to most of this ancient ahupua'a, with more than a little irony since a Hawaiian entity is having to purchase land that Hawaiians lived on and cultivated for generations.
The most recent North Shore brouhaha over the expansion at Turtle Bay is generating some, though not all, of the usual divisions among residents: comments about the rich fighting the super-rich, local vs. haole transplant, jobs vs. lifestyle, etc. The North Shore "gentrification" that has occurred resulted from a community in decline, primarily due to the closure of the Kahuku Sugar Mill in 1971.
What replaced it and transformed this community is the surfing lifestyle industry. This industry and the people who promoted it have produced the major economic revitalization of the area, centered in Hale'iwa.
The recreational and later professional surfers who moved here were rarely rich, but decidedly middle class and usually from a more urban area. I would argue that most of the evident gentrification of the area was created through sweat equity and community involvement.
When the Ke Ala Pupukea bike path was built, the North Shore Outdoor Circle, with an entirely volunteer force, worked tirelessly to landscape the entire length, an ongoing effort. Arguably, urban transplants are more aware of the consequences of growth that outstrips infrastructure and the concomitant loss of quality of life.
The North Shore has become a must-visit part of the O'ahu tourist industry. Surf contests, Waimea Bay and turtle viewing have all had an exponential impact on the public infrastructure. Few public improvements have been funded in the last few decades.
The city is considering approvals for the Turtle Bay Resort that would immediately permit 4,500 condo and hotel units to be built just five minutes from Sunset Beach. Because of the significant changes to the infrastructure, state statutes require that a supplemental environmental impact statement be produced.
This would allow the community to fairly evaluate the proposal and contribute to the decision-making using current data and disclosures.
Here at the end of the Ko'olau Mountains, our keiki are growing up with trade winds that have largely managed to blow racism out to sea. Each generation is more interracial than the last. Kupuna or keiki, Kahuku or Kaunala, we all have a voice. Let's respect each other. Those who attempt to marginalize people using outdated prejudices of any ilk only discredit themselves.
Ken Newfield
Pupukea
After the recent heavy rains, anyone on a peaceful walk up to the falls in Waimea Valley on O'ahu (no more of those ghastly buses) could witness a spectacular cascade of crystal-clear water into the pool below.
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is taking title to most of this ancient ahupua'a, with more than a little irony since a Hawaiian entity is having to purchase land that Hawaiians lived on and cultivated for generations.
The most recent North Shore brouhaha over the expansion at Turtle Bay is generating some, though not all, of the usual divisions among residents: comments about the rich fighting the super-rich, local vs. haole transplant, jobs vs. lifestyle, etc. The North Shore "gentrification" that has occurred resulted from a community in decline, primarily due to the closure of the Kahuku Sugar Mill in 1971.
What replaced it and transformed this community is the surfing lifestyle industry. This industry and the people who promoted it have produced the major economic revitalization of the area, centered in Hale'iwa.
The recreational and later professional surfers who moved here were rarely rich, but decidedly middle class and usually from a more urban area. I would argue that most of the evident gentrification of the area was created through sweat equity and community involvement.
When the Ke Ala Pupukea bike path was built, the North Shore Outdoor Circle, with an entirely volunteer force, worked tirelessly to landscape the entire length, an ongoing effort. Arguably, urban transplants are more aware of the consequences of growth that outstrips infrastructure and the concomitant loss of quality of life.
The North Shore has become a must-visit part of the O'ahu tourist industry. Surf contests, Waimea Bay and turtle viewing have all had an exponential impact on the public infrastructure. Few public improvements have been funded in the last few decades.
The city is considering approvals for the Turtle Bay Resort that would immediately permit 4,500 condo and hotel units to be built just five minutes from Sunset Beach. Because of the significant changes to the infrastructure, state statutes require that a supplemental environmental impact statement be produced.
This would allow the community to fairly evaluate the proposal and contribute to the decision-making using current data and disclosures.
Here at the end of the Ko'olau Mountains, our keiki are growing up with trade winds that have largely managed to blow racism out to sea. Each generation is more interracial than the last. Kupuna or keiki, Kahuku or Kaunala, we all have a voice. Let's respect each other. Those who attempt to marginalize people using outdated prejudices of any ilk only discredit themselves.
Ken Newfield
Pupukea
'Waimanalo Blues' heard all over Oahu
TO THE long string of land use conflicts in Hawaii, queue up the one coiling around the North Shore of Oahu.
There on the tip of the island, where the highway curves around the descending ridges of the Koolaus, the 500-room Turtle Bay resort could soon swell to a hotel-condo compound seven times its size.
Read more from Cynthia Oi, Honolulu Star Bulletin staff writer
There on the tip of the island, where the highway curves around the descending ridges of the Koolaus, the 500-room Turtle Bay resort could soon swell to a hotel-condo compound seven times its size.
Read more from Cynthia Oi, Honolulu Star Bulletin staff writer
Is Oahu's North Shore due for expansion?
Recently, there has been increased community efforts and interests due to an announcement made by the Turtle Bay Resorts' expansion proposals. Oaktree Capital Management, owner of Turtle Bay Resort, plans to go forward with a massive expansion plan (3,500+ rooms) that includes the placement of an additional hotel and development of the unspoiled expanse of neighboring Kawela Bay.
This is meant to be a forum for information, facts, news and opinions of North Shore residents, community members, organizations and government agencies. Be respectful of dissenting opinions, but also be clear and concise. We will remove any entries not conforming to a civil manner. Suggestions are welcomed and encouraged. Factual information, as always, will have greater weight for your position.
Mahalo.
This is meant to be a forum for information, facts, news and opinions of North Shore residents, community members, organizations and government agencies. Be respectful of dissenting opinions, but also be clear and concise. We will remove any entries not conforming to a civil manner. Suggestions are welcomed and encouraged. Factual information, as always, will have greater weight for your position.
Mahalo.
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