Turtle Bay hotel developer must do new EIS, Hawaii Supreme Court rules

The Hawaii Supreme Court has blocked the proposed Kuilima Resort Turtle Bay expansion project on Oahu's North Shore, ruling that an updated environmental impact statement must first be performed.

In a 67-page ruling today, the high court overturned earlier decisions in the Circuit and Intermediate Court of Appeals which held that an original EIS performed in 1985 and partially updated later did not have to be replaced by a new supplementary EIS. Today's ruling means the developer will have to do a new supplemental EIS.

More at the Honolulu Advertiser

Plans for Turtle Bay Resort remain uncertain

It has new owners, but any future development awaits Supreme Court

Turtle Bay Resort officially came under new ownership when lenders took title to the property last week, but the change will do little to create more certainty for the future of the 858-acre resort on Oahu’s North Shore.

The big question hanging over the property is whether the consortium of lenders that took back the property from Oaktree Capital Management in lieu of foreclosure will carry through on a 24-year-old development plan to build thousands of additional hotel and condominiums units.

More at Pacific Business News

Oahu’s Turtle Bay Resort has new owners

The Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu’s North Shore is officially under new ownership.

A consortium of international investment management firms took back the property from Oaktree Capital Management in a deed in lieu of foreclosure transaction that closed on Tuesday.

The 858-acre resort includes a 443-room hotel, two golf courses and a spa.

The consortium, which has managed the resort for nearly two years, already has spent $6 million to upgrade its infrastructure and hotel, including expanding Kuilima Drive from two to four lanes and upgrading the well, according to developer Stanford Carr, the resort’s interim property manager...

There are no immediate plans to build any additional hotels or condominiums at the resort.

More at Pacific Business News

Talk Story 2

Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at Kahuku High School Cafeteria hosted by Defend Oahu Coalition!

This is the second in a series of Community Forums regarding the future of Turtle Bay, the purpose of which is to update the community about progress made since Governor Lingle announced her initiative to preserve the undeveloped portions of the property at Turtle Bay Resort.

• Despite overwhelming community opposition, the City’s Department of Planning and Permitting is reportedly very close to issuing final subdivision permits to the developer at Turtle Bay which will allow him to move ahead with the outdated plan for five additional hotels and one thousand more resort condominiums.

• The State Supreme Court is set to hear Oral Arguments (December 17th) regarding the Keep the North Shore Country case asking for a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.

• The resort property is formally changing owners this month, who are reportedly working on a new business model for the resort.

This is a crucial time to get updated about the current situation in the Country and a critical time to get involved. Efforts aimed at building on plans for preservation as well as sustainable land use enforcement at City and State levels (regarding the expansion plan being proposed at the resort) will also be addressed. Notable speakers invited to attend include: Governor Lingle, Representatives Abercrombie and Hirono, Mayor Hannemann, Turtle Bay Advisory Working Group Chair Bill Paty, Senator Clayton Hee, Councilmember Donovan Dela Cruz and Interim Developer for Kuilima Resort Company Stanford Carr.

98 acres of Hawaii's North Shore is headed for a sealed-bid sale

Nearly 100 acres of agricultural land next to the Turtle Bay Resort on O'ahu's North Shore are headed for a sealed-bid sale, four years after a Florida-based investment firm bought the oceanfront property for $2 million with plans to subdivide it for potential residential use.

The property on Marconi Road includes an old home and a commercial building that once housed Hawai'i's first wireless telegraph station, established in 1901 under a contract with a company set up by the Italian inventor of the technology, Guglielmo Marconi.

More at the Honolulu Advertiser

Hawaii Supreme Court takes Turtle Bay case

The Hawaii Supreme Court has agreed to take up the issue of whether Kuilima Development should be required to do an updated environmental study for its planned expansion of Turtle Bay Resort.

The court announced Thursday that it will hear oral arguments in the case Nov. 19. The Supreme Court will review a 2-1 decision by the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals that denied a request for an updated review of the project's impact on the environment.

The question is whether the project's 24-year-old environmental impact statement is still valid.

More at the Honolulu Advertiser

Turtle Bay Resort names new manager

Turtle Bay Resort has a new manager.

Bob Boyle, Benchmark Hospitality International vice president and general manager at Turtle Bay, announced Wednesday that Tom Cross has been appointed resort manager.

More at Pacific Business News

State still wants to acquire Turtle Bay

The Lingle administration has made two unsuccessful offers to buy Turtle Bay Resort but remains willing to negotiate with brokers representing the scenic North Shore property.

The state has sought to acquire the resort land and sell off the hotel, golf courses and other businesses while preserving open space from Kahuku Point to Kawela Bay.

More at the Honolulu Advertiser

Turtle Bay plan gets another extension from the city

The city has granted a third six-month extension on an application to subdivide land at the Turtle Bay Resort, allowing preparatory work to move ahead but stopping short of giving the owner what it wants — permission to develop the property fully.

More at the Honolulu Advertiser

Campaign to preserve Turtle Bay

Denise Antolini presented for the working group's review a draft of a new brochure to support the "Campaign to Preserve Turtle Bay," which is a joint effort of the Trust for Public Land and the North Shore Community Land Trust, in partnership with the Ko'olauloa-North Shore Alliance, to raise five million dollars in private funding to support the preservation effort. Blake McElheny announced that a special reception featuring the auction of an original painting of Kawela Bay by renowned North Shore artist Bill Braden will be held at the Hawai'i Prince Hotel at 5:00 p.m. on August 22. To find out more about the art auction or to donate, visit www.tpl.org/turtlebay or contact: Keith Kraughto, Hawaiian Islands Program Development Director, The Trust for Public Land, 212 Merchant Street, Suite 320, Honolulu, HI 96813, (808) 524-8560, keith.kraughto@tpl.org

Technical Concerns

Speaking on behalf of DLNR director and committee chair Laura Thielen, Mitch Costino provided an interim report on the status of the City and County of Honolulu's 1986 Unilateral Agreement (UA) with the resort for the conditional zoning change. The committee's focus is on how the UA impacts the acquisition strategies being discussed by the Working Group. He stressed that the subcommittee believes that the continued and sustained operation of the Opana water system and the North Shore Wastewater Treatment facility, both located mauka of Kamehameha Highway, are important to any acquisition strategy currently under consideration and to the security of future resort owners as well as the existing users. Mr. Costino also reported on the various infrastructure and improvements that are required by the UA but have not yet been satisfied. Further details regarding the impact of those important issues will be addressed in subsequent committee reports to the working group.

Governor's Installation Dinner Remarks on Turtle Bay

Governor Lingle spoke to the North Shore Chamber of Commerce at their installation banquet on June 4 about the progress of the plan to protect Turtle Bay, and also signed into law two bills that strengthen the State's and community's ongoing collaborative efforts to preserve lands and natural resources for future generations. Watch the Governor's remarks on:

Friday, July 18 at 1:00 p.m. – 'Olelo Channel 54
Friday, July 25 at 4:00 p.m. – 'Olelo Channel 54
Thursday, July 31 at 6:00 p.m. – 'Olelo Channel 49
Friday, August 1 at 6:00 p.m. – 'Olelo Channel 49

Kuilima Resort won't have to defend expansion plans

The Land Use Commission yesterday deferred action that would have forced Kuilima Resort to defend its right to operate under a 1986 zone change that allows for the expansion of the Turtle Bay Resort.

At issue is a 263-acre parcel that has a championship golf course. The master plan for the area calls for public parks, a stable and condominiums, none of which have been built.

More at the Honolulu Advertiser

Governor signs bill to acquire Turtle Bay

With North Shore business and environmental leaders looking on in approval, Gov. Linda Lingle last night signed a bill into law authorizing the state to acquire the Turtle Bay Resort and keep some of the undeveloped land in preservation.
Advertisement

The bill signing at a North Shore Chamber of Commerce banquet in Waimea Valley was a ceremonial yet important moment for an idea that began as a surprise in the governor's State of the State speech in January.

More at the Honolulu Advertiser

Working to protect Oahu's country

By Bill Paty

Most Hawai'i residents are by now aware of the opportunity announced by Gov. Linda Lingle during her State of the State address to protect the Turtle Bay Resort on O'ahu's North Shore and preserve this spectacular coastline in perpetuity.

More at the Honolulu Advertiser

Turtle Bay owner restructures debt, names Stanford Carr as top manager

The owner of the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore of Oahu has reached a settlement with its lenders and has named prominent Hawaii developer Stanford Carr as its new top manager.

More at Pacific Business News

Turtle Bay acquisition approved

In a symbolic commitment, the state House and Senate yesterday voted to approve a bill that would authorize the state to acquire the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore.

More at the Honolulu Advertiser

Lingle's Turtle Bay plan gains lawmakers' backing

State House and Senate lawmakers, in a vote just before a midnight Friday deadline, agreed to a bill that would allow the state to acquire and preserve Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore.

The Lingle administration is in negotiations with private investors on the sale of the hotel, golf courses and other developed portions of the 880-acre resort. The idea is to use proceeds of the sale of the developed land to finance the preservation of undeveloped land such as Kawela Bay and Kahuku Point.

More at the Honolulu Advertiser

Turtle Bay land draws buyers

Oahu's controversial Turtle Bay Resort is attracting multiple parties interested in acquiring part of the 850-acre North Shore resort, according to a member of an advisory group commissioned by Gov. Linda Lingle.

"Papers were put on the table by potential buyers," said Steve Metter, head of a subcommittee responsible for acquisition options.

Meanwhile, a financial consultant hired by the state says that any buyer would need at least some further development, possibly outside of the existing hotel's footprint, in order to recoup money that would be required to maintain the resort.

More at the Honolulu Star Bulletin

Bill to buy Turtle Bay ready for committee

Legislators are expecting to know more tomorrow about how far the Lingle administration will go to save the Turtle Bay area of the North Shore from further development.

State senators pulled back a resolution yesterday endorsing Gov. Linda Lingle's unspecified plan to control the 880-acre area, which is zoned for an additional 3,500 resort units.

Supporters are now focused on a bill to purchase Turtle Bay, Senate Bill 2423, set for a conference committee tomorrow morning.

More at the Honolulu Star Bulletin