(Posted 5/1/09) When it comes to meetings of the state Land Use Commission, high drama is in short supply. More often than not, you need to mainline caffeine to stay awake through the tedious witnesses and cross-examination. But the … Continued
The Hawai`i Supreme Court has issued its long-awaited decision in the `Aina Le`a case. For those needing a reminder, that case involves the development of about 1,000 acres of land near Waikoloa, in the Big Island district of South Kohala. … Continued
Posted 11/26/2014 The Hawai`i Supreme Court has issued its long-awaited decision in the `Aina Le`a case. For those needing a reminder, that case involves the development of about 1,000 acres of land near Waikoloa, in the Big Island district of … Continued
Rushing to meet a self-imposed deadline, the Board of Land and Natural Resources, on December 29, 1994, met to hear closing arguments in the contested case held over the Conservation District Use Application of Haseko (`Ewa), Inc., to build a … Continued
Some of the building blocks of the Ko`olau Loa Sustainable Communities Plan (KLSCP) have been moving targets in recent months. Information about the region’s population, growth trends, and number of potential housing units was either absent from or sorely outdated … Continued
The County of Hawai`i Planning Department has won a favorable ruling from the 3rd Circuit Court in a case that challenged the county’s ability to set shoreline setback distances. Despite that, the deputy corporation counsel representing the Planning Department, Amy … Continued
It’s finally settled. James Pflueger’s company, Pila`a 400, LLC, must pay the state $4 million for damaging the reef at Pila`a Bay in North Kaua`i. After heavy rains in November 2001, a massive wall of mud from Pila`a 400‘s mauka … Continued
The state Board of Land and Natural Resources did pretty much everything wrong when it approved Wainiha, Kaua`i property owner Craig Dobbin’s certified shoreline in 2010. That’s the impression one gets from reading the January 27 Hawai`i Supreme Court decision … Continued
Humpback Delisting Petition: A newly formed association claiming to represent Hawai`i fishermen wants to remove the North Pacific population of humpback whales from the federal list of endangered species.The group, calling itself Hawai`i Fishermen’s Alliance for Conservation and Tradition, Inc. (HFACT), … Continued
A developer who has a history of flouting conditions of permits issued by the Hawai`i County Planning Department has now taken the county to court. At issue are the conditions of a Special Management Area permit governing a luxury, gated … Continued