A controversial gondola project on Oʻahu could be halted as it is at risk of losing its conditional use permit.
Dawn Takeuchi Apuna, director of the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting, sent a letter to the developer on Saturday outlining why the agency is reconsidering the permit over concerns including unexploded ordnance, lack of community input, and impact on endangered species.
DPP also noted the project failed to comply with certain conditions in the original permit granted in 2019.
The Kamananui Agribusiness project is proposing a gondola on the slopes of Mount Kaʻala on Oʻahu’s North Shore. Residents have opposed the project for years.
The property was bought from Dole Pineapple in 2017 and is now managed by Kaukonahua Ranch, owned by Canadian businessman Joey Houssian.
Last month, the Honolulu City Council passed a resolution urging DPP to revoke the property owner’s permit.
Since then, the permitting department has taken into consideration the concerns raised in City Council testimony by various state agencies.
The U.S. Army Garrison Hawaiʻi said the project is located too close to military training. It also disclosed that at least two cattle from the project have been killed in live-fire Army training and that there may be unexploded ordnance within the project boundary.
“These comments are new evidence material to whether the Project site is an appropriate location for the conditional use and whether the conditional use will provide a service or facility which will contribute to the general welfare of the community-at-large or surrounding neighborhood,” DPP said in the letter.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife reported potential impacts of the project on the Hawaiian hoary bat, state and federally protected seabird species, and federal- and state-listed endangered plants.
DOFAW also raised concerns about increased traffic and potential loss of trees.
DPP found that the project didn’t meet the requirements to cultivate crops and reforest certain areas.
Project officials say they are reviewing DPP’s letter and will provide a written response to the points raised in the document.
In a written statement, the ranch general manager, Mark “Skip” Taylor, said that the ranch has been expanding its agricultural operations and “satisfying permit conditions in consultation with relevant agencies” despite DPP’s letter outlining unmet permitting requirements.
“This has been an extremely complex and complicated review and approval process. We are confident that the significant efforts and investments made into the Ranch's operations and the satisfaction of permit conditions will be recognized by the City as being in compliance with the law and all applicable requirements,” Taylor said.
The developer has 15 days to respond to DPP to address the concerns raised in the letter.
DPP will then hold a public hearing for the project developers to plead their case and for the public to weigh in. The department hasn’t set a date yet for the hearing.
The agency declined to comment further on the project while the permit is under review.
North Shore Neighborhood Board Chair Kathleen Pahinui said she’s pleased with DPP’s decision to reconsider the project’s permit.
“We don’t need another Disneyland-type attraction,” she told HPR. “Mount Kaʻala is sacred. It has a lot of mana. It’s celebrated in hula, in oli, in mele, and why do we need this? This is strictly for somebody to make money with. That's the only purpose of this project. It's for tourists.”
Read the DPP letter below or click here to open a new tab.
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