On December 23, the Honolulu Climate Change Commission approved guidance on how the Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) should update the city’s shoreline setback ordinance, which has not been significantly amended in a decade. The ordinance — which Matt Gonser … Continued
‘Aina Le‘a Keeps Whiffing: Since August, ‘Aina Le‘a, Inc., has been attempting to win approval from the Hawai‘i County Planning Department of an environmental impact statement preparation notice, or EISPN. The notice is a necessary first step in moving forward with construction … Continued
“No pressure, but history is in your hands,” attorney Pamela Bunn told the Commission on Water Resource Management during oral arguments in the Na Wai Eha contested case hearing, held November 19 in Wailuku. Fifteen years after Earthjustice, on behalf … Continued
One would think home buyers might want to conduct due diligence investigations before they close on a home along Sunset Beach that looks as though it might not survive the winter swells without some fortification. One would also think the … Continued
Sunset Beach homeowners Gary and Cynthia Stanley may have bought some time to keep their unauthorized sandbag burrito pile in place through the winter by requesting a contested case hearing from the Board of Land and Natural Resources (see Board … Continued
Can’t Cool Down: More than a decade ago at the Hawai‘i Conservation Conference, Stephen Miller of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office in Honolulu expressed his concern about the pace at which nighttime temperatures at high elevations were rising: … Continued
On October 25, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources unanimously approved the acquisition of 3,716 acres of native forest owned by Dole Food Company on O‘ahu’s North Shore for $3.716 million and authorized public hearings to add those … Continued
On January 7, 2019, David Kimo Frankel emailed deputy attorney general William Wynhoff about activities on the state parcel in front of the Kahala Hotel and Resort rented by ResortTrust Hawai‘i (RTH), the hotel’s owner: “After removing a lot of … Continued
(This article has been corrected. Land Board member Chris Yuen did not add a condition requiring a sublessee establishing an annual crop to harvest it before the permit expires. Rather, he required Mahi Pono to inform any lessees that rely on … Continued
At the Land Board’s October 25 meeting, a representative of the Lani-Kailua Outdoor Circle pleaded with the board to minimize any improvements within the 986-acre Kawainui Marsh-Hamakua master plan project area. To appease concerns expressed by that group and others … Continued