Posted 10/05/2011 
Koa Ridge, the 767-acre development proposed for Central O`ahu by Castle & Cooke Homes Hawai`i, Inc., is back before the Land Use Commission.
In August, 1st Circuit Judge Karl Sakamoto sided with the Sierra Club, Hawai`i Chapter, finding that the LUC’s earlier approval of the project, back in September 2010, was invalid. Then-commissioner Duane Kanuha had voted in favor of the land reclassification needed for the project, thus giving it the required six-vote majority. The Sierra Club challenged Kanuha’s presence on the commission, in light of the refusal of the Hawai`i Senate to confirm him earlier in the year.
On October 3, Castle & Cooke, through the law firm of Matsubara-Kotake, once more filed the petition with the LUC.
The October filing marks the third time that Castle & Cooke has filed a petition for the Koa Ridge development with the LUC. The first time it did so was more than 10 years ago. The LUC approved the project in 2002, but that decision was overturned in court because no environmental impact statement was done for it. Castle & Cooke appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, which in 2006 upheld the lower court decision.
The Koa Ridge project is proposed to straddle the H-2 freeway, between Mililani and Waipi`o. Castle & Cooke proposes building around 5,000 residential units, a commercial area, medical center, and sites for parks, schools, and recreational facilities.
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