North Shore Setback Proposal Could Affect You

The article below is from the Pacific Business News 2-9-2007. This legislation - SB 851 was moved forward and supported by Keep The North Shore Country and The Defend Oahu Coalition. While originally intended to only cover the area that Turtle Bay has, it was amended and expanded and could now affect the area from Waimea to Koolau Ranch.

Looks like all those ocean front houses at Pipeline and Sunset might have some "issues" to deal with.

Nice job KTNSC and DOC. I think you guys should get another amendment added and have it extended all the way to Kaena Point.

Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - March 9, 2007 by Janis L. Magin

Pacific Business News

Oahu shoreline setback proposal could affect entire state

A proposal to increase the shoreline setback to 750 feet for Oahu's entire windward North Shore has passed the Senate and could open debate about increasing shoreline setbacks for oceanfront property across Hawaii.

The original bill specifically named the Turtle Bay Resort and the plan by its owner, Oaktree Capital Management, to revive a 20-year-old master plan to add up to 3,500 units to the 880-acre, 443-unit resort.

But the bill was then amended in committee to encompass Oahu's entire Koolauloa district, which runs from Kaaawa to Waimea Bay and would affect all oceanfront development not only at Turtle Bay but at Hauula, Laie, Kahuku and Sunset Beach as well.

Setbacks typically are 40 feet from the shoreline, which the Hawaii Supreme Court defined in a ruling last fall as the highest wash of waves instead of at the vegetation line.

The bill's original intent was to protect any archaeological and burial sites along the shoreline from development within the Turtle Bay area between Marconi Road and Kawela Bay. It cited a letter sent from the state historic preservation division urging Turtle Bay to revise its plan because of the possibility that there are undiscovered burials within "100-150 meters of the shoreline."

The wording of the bill says developers would "be strongly encouraged to maintain a minimum shoreline setback of 750 feet."

But state Sen. Russell Kokubun, D-S. Hilo-Naalehu, who introduced the legislation at the request of a North Shore resident, said the bill was amended in committee to delete the reference to Oaktree and the Turtle Bay Resort because it was wrong to target just one project.

Terry O'Toole and Sharon Lovejoy, attorneys for Turtle Bay's parent company, Kuilima Resort Co., said that, in their opinion, the bill also could potentially create problems for existing properties with setbacks of less than 750 feet. "It's not going to do anything to the resort's plans," O'Toole said. "The setbacks that have been approved are basically there. This bill is not going to change the setbacks and it couldn't." While the bill was amended to broaden the area for the shoreline setback to one whole district of Oahu, it potentially could be broadened even further.

"I think that when we look at shoreline setbacks, that should be done on a statewide basis," said Kokubun, noting that the amended area was restricted by the bill's title, which names the Koolauloa District.

The Hawaii Chapter of the Sierra Club also sees the bill as a springboard to talk about the need to increase shoreline setbacks statewide, said Hawaii chapter Director Jeff Mikulina. The bill passed the full Senate on Tuesday and was sent to the House for consideration. The Turtle Bay development plan has drawn considerable opposition from residents who fear that it will have a negative impact on traffic, infrastructure and lifestyle on the North Shore. In November, a Circuit Court judge dismissed a lawsuit against Turtle Bay parent Kuilima Resort Co. that would have required the developer to conduct a supplemental environmental impact statement to expand on the resort.

jmagin@bizjournals.com 955-8041

Thanks to the Pacific Business News for publishing this article. To Subscribe to The Pacific Business News CLICK HERE