Updates

12/1/2025:  

📣 New Developments: DPP’s Reconsideration Introduces Significant Regulatory Challenges for the Project!

✨ Reconsideration Notice Issued by DPP
In November 2025, the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) issued a formal Reconsideration Noticefor the project’s Conditional Use Permit (CUP 2019/CUP-18), effectively placing the entire authorization back under review.

📄 15-Day Response Required
Under this notice, the permittee now has 15 days to submit a written response addressing the concerns identified by DPP and partner agencies.

🗣️ Public Hearing Ahead
A public hearing will follow, giving the community another opportunity to speak and ensuring that public testimony remains part of the official record.

🔍 Full De Novo Review
DPP will then conduct a complete de novo evaluation of the permit—reassessing all evidence, conditions, and compliance obligations from the ground up.

🗓️ Decision Expected Within 30 Days
A written determination is expected within 30 days after the close of the public hearing.

⚠️ What This Means

This Reconsideration Notice represents a significant shift in oversight, bringing long-standing safety, environmental, cultural, and compliance concerns into sharp focus and creating meaningful procedural obstacles for the project moving forward.

1. Non-Compliance With Required Agricultural Conditions

DPP’s findings indicate that the project has not met the agricultural commitments that formed the basis of the CUP:

• Crop cultivation: Not met

• Forestry: Not met

• Agroforestry: Not met

• Cattle ranching: Not confirmed

• Total required agricultural acreage: Not achieved

These deficiencies call into question whether the project continues to satisfy the conditions under which the CUP was originally granted.

2. Newly Identified Public Safety Risks From U.S. Army Operations

The U.S. Army provided new information indicating that portions of the project area are subject to:

• Munitions fallout

• Aerial military training activities

• Potential presence of unexploded ordnance (UXO)

The Army also reported that two cattle were killed during live-fire exercises within the project area. These risks were not part of the record when the CUP was approved and have substantial implications for public access and site suitability.

3. DOFAW Identifies Risks to Sensitive Species and Watershed Resources

The State Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) submitted new comments identifying concerns related to:

• Hawaiian hoary bats

• Protected seabird species

• Endangered plants

• Watershed protection and potential tree loss

• Increased vehicular and foot traffic

• Inadequate community involvement in the original review

These issues introduce additional environmental considerations that were not evaluated during the initial CUP approval.

4. OHA Raises Cultural, Visual, and Land-Use Concerns

For the first time, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) raised objections citing:

• Impacts to cultural resources

• Visual and landscape concerns

• Traffic impacts

• Appropriateness of agricultural land use

These newly submitted concerns further expand the scope of issues now under review.

5. The Permittee Discloses Limitations Affecting Project Feasibility

In a November 2025 communication, the permittee acknowledged that:

• Large portions of the site cannot support required tree densities

• The area faces significant wildfire risk

• Agricultural outputs cannot be met due to environmental and water constraints

These admissions raise questions about the project’s ability to satisfy its own proposed operations.

6. Public Feedback Has Increased Substantially

While the original CUP review received approximately two public comments, DPP now notes “voluminous” public input, particularly in response to recent modification requests. This elevated level of public concern represents information that was not available during the original approval process.

7. DPP Will Re-Evaluate the Permit in Its Entirety

DPP determined that “good and sufficient cause” exists to reconsider the CUP. The Department will:

• Conduct a public hearing

• Evaluate the full record de novo

• Determine whether the permit should be affirmed, modified, or revoked

This process introduces significant procedural and compliance requirements for the permittee as the project undergoes renewed scrutiny.

Summary

DPP’s reconsideration reflects a substantive shift in the regulatory posture surrounding the project. Multiple agencies have provided new information raising safety, environmental, cultural, and operational concerns. These findings create meaningful administrative and compliance challenges for the continuation of the project under its current permit.

📣 Stay Connected With Community Organizing

A local Facebook group — Kūpaʻa Kaʻala Alliance —  is leading the charge for residents to share updates, coordinate efforts, and stay informed about actions related to protecting Mount Kaʻala. You can follow the conversation or join the community here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1178850287587134

11/5/25:  The Honolulu City Council voted to revoke the permit for the North Shore gondola project. (HNN)

The decision reflects growing community push-back against the proposed gondola development. (HNN)

This is a major win for those of us advocating to protect Kaʻala’s environment and cultural significance — but it also means the fight isn’t over: there may be appeals, new permit efforts, or alternative proposals ahead.

Watch the full HNN story in the video below :

🚫 The Gondola Project Threatens Our Island

The proposed gondola project threatens Oʻahu’s natural beauty, cultural integrity, and community values. It would bring irreversible damage to one of our island’s most sacred and ecologically rich places—Mount Kaʻala. We believe there are better solutions that respect both the land and its people. 

🌺 COMMUNITY IMPACT — YOUR VOICES MADE A DIFFERENCE

🌟 DPP’s Reconsideration Notice specifically acknowledged community outreach.
Because so many of you spoke up, DPP confirmed that public testimony brought forward critical environmental, cultural, and safety issues that were not evaluated in the original permit approval. Your engagement directly helped move the project into a full reconsideration process.

📣 Your testimony revealed major concerns
📄 The developer now has 15 days to respond to all issues raised.
🗣️ A public hearing is coming, where the community will again be heard.
🔍 DPP will conduct a full de novo review, reassessing all evidence from scratch.
🗓️ A final ruling is expected within 30 days after the hearing closes.

💚 Community outreach worked — and it is shaping what happens next.

Please write to the following DPP contacts to express your concerns:

📧 Steve Tagawa — DPP Planner
stagawa@honolulu.gov

📧 General DPP Inbox
dpp@honolulu.gov

🏛️ Additional Relevant Contacts

📧 DPP Director – Dawn Takeuchi Apuna (via general DPP address)
dpp@honolulu.gov

📧 Honolulu City Council (District 2 – North Shore)
Councilmember Matt Weyer – contact via Council website or district office

🗣 Suggested Talking Points 

🌿 The project threatens a sacred, ecologically sensitive area and could cause irreversible environmental damage, including impacts to endangered birds, bats, plants, and watershed resources identified by DOFAW.

🚗 Developers estimate 700 tourists and 1,600 additional vehicles per day, overwhelming local infrastructure and increasing dangers on Kaukonahua Road.

🅿️ A parking lot for 300+ cars and a new entrance off Kaukonahua Road raise serious safety concerns—now heightened by U.S. Army disclosures of munitions fallout, aerial training zones, and potential UXO within the project area.

🌱 Construction would disrupt indigenous and endangered plant habitats and accelerate loss of fragile ecosystems.

🪦 The project risks impacts to cultural sites, burial areas, and traditional lands, as emphasized by OHA’s newly submitted concerns.

🚫 The developer has not met key agricultural requirements that justified their permit, calling the validity of the entire project into question.

📢 DPP noted the lack of meaningful community outreach during the original review—highlighting how essential public voices have been in bringing forward overlooked impacts.

⚠️ There has still been no Environmental Impact Statement, despite the scale and sensitivity of the proposal.

🤝 True transparency, accountability, and community involvement must be required before any project of this magnitude is considered.

🌏 Tourism development should reflect sustainability, cultural respect, and local control—not unchecked expansion that jeopardizes public safety and natural resources.