An artist's rendering shows what the
Pua'ena eco-camp would look like.
Thinly disguised
resort or
tent camp?
People debate whether a proposed
By Lori Tighe
North Shore eco-camp is good for
the economy and environment,
or simply against zoning rules
Star-BulletinThe joke about "eco-camps," like the one proposed for the North Shore, is that a tent with a platform costs an extra $25; without a TV is another $25; and with mosquitoes, well, that'll be a $25 surcharge.
These camps draw middle- to upper-middle class tourists who want an ecologically responsible vacation and are willing to pay up to $150 a night for it.
But is it a tent camp or a thinly disguised resort? This question has plagued Oahu's first major foray into ecotourism.
Opponents insist it is a resort being planned for nonresort-zoned land along the Kawailoa shoreline. They believe this could open the door for other tourist camps on other nonresort-zoned lands throughout Oahu.
Supporters want the ecocamp's 100 new jobs and economic boost to Haleiwa businesses. They also fear if Hawaii blows this opportunity, it could hamper more ecotourism ventures in the future.
"This is the kind of project environmentalists would like to see," said Annette Kaohelaulii, president of the Hawaii Eco-tourism Association.
City planners are now reviewing the environmental impact statement of the proposed eco-camp on the North Shore. They must hold a public hearing in the first quarter of next year because the project requires a "special management area use permit."
Then the City Council has another two months to vote yea or nay on the permit -- which determines the project's fate.
"If I can't do ecotourism in Hawaii, I doubt anybody can," said Stanley Selengut, 69, who has earned numerous awards for his ecocamps on the Caribbean island of St. John.
Selengut was invited by Bishop Estate, the owner of Puaena Point, to develop the 144 acres into an ecocamp like his three other camps on St. John.
"Ecological restoration is a core element," said Selengut from his beachfront home in Bridgehampton, N.Y. "Encouraging native wildlife, protecting the marine environment and preserving the cultural folklore are all part of the sustainable design."
His proposed 252-unit ecocamp includes two cafeterias, a store, two swimming pools, four tennis courts, an all-weather basketball court, nine sand or grass volleyball courts, two open-air pavilions and a childcare facility.
Each unit, or "eco-tent," is a 256-square-foot wood-framed structure with fiberglass screening, recycled wood and plastic decks and a skin of vinyl fabric.
Solar panels heat the water, composting toilets eliminate the need for waste-water treatment, and photovoltaic panels convert sunlight into electricity. Recycled and Hawaiian materials are used from the floor to the rafters.
The main opposition centers over the zoning of the land, said Ken Newfield, chairman of the North Shore Neighborhood Board. The zoning, Urban-agriculture II, allows recreational tents, but not a resort.
"If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it's a duck," Newfield said. "This is a resort."
The board, which recently voted it down 10-2, will urge the city to reject the permit.
Allowing the camp on Agriculture II land will set a precedent for other ecotourism on Agriculture II land, which Oahu has a lot of, Newfield said.
But that would be unlikely, said Scott Ezer of the Honolulu planning firm Helber Hastert & Fee, who drafted the project's EIS. He said 5 percent of Agriculture II land on Oahu is zoned Urban-agriculture II.
The most vocal opposition comes from the million-dollar homeowners on Papailoa Road who don't want what they perceive as a low-rent camp next door.
"I put in a $900,000 house. If across the street I've got a $20,000 tent, it reduces my property value," said Papailoa resident Tom Richie, president of TransPacific Mortgage Group. His family has lived on the North Shore for 80 years.
"Illustrations make it look like a Weinberg Village (Hawaii public housing project)," said Warren Scoville, another Papailoa resident. "They're tacky."
"It's not the kind of project that's good for the North Shore," said Scoville, a member of the North Shore Neighborhood Board. He conducted a petition drive that collected more than 2,000 signatures against the ecocamp.
The plan has a 14-acre buffer between many of the Papailoa residents and the campsites. And after initial complaints that the proposed plan was too dense, Selengut removed the laundry facility. He also submitted six alternative plans at the city's request, including one with 25 percent fewer ecotents.
Supporters are reluctant to speak up because the opposition from the Papailoa crowd is so vehement, said Evelyn Lane, a North Shore resident.
"It's pretty heavy down here," she said. "People are afraid to come and testify because there'll be some sort of punishment or retaliation."
Lane researched the project and decided she favors it.
"It's not a resort with a lot of concrete. It's clearly a camp. It's a good opportunity for our kids who need jobs. We're really desperate out here. A lot of businesses have suffered."
Rosalyn Passos, a teacher at Haleiwa Elementary School, signed Scoville's petition because "they were making a lot of talk, and we followed the bandwagon." A few months later she tried to remove her name.
"A lot of us signed that petition, and we wished we hadn't," Passos said.
"In fact, most of the community is in favor of it, but only the people who oppose it show up at rallies and meetings," said George Atkins, owner of Oceans in Glass and the Haleiwa Art Gallery. "I talk to people all the time. Once you explain the truth, they come around."
A longtime journalist on St. John, Gary "Fatty" Goodlander said people there initially wondered if Selengut's main motivator was making money or protecting the environment, or both.
"The fact of the matter is, the net effect is really positive for the whole island. He brings the focus on the ecological pristineness, which is the best St. John has to offer."
