Sierra Club fights
land plan near Mililani

Lawyers argue that
the reclassification was
wrongly obtained

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By Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.com

Reclassification of 762 acres of land near Mililani to urban from agricultural use should be invalidated because the state Land Use Commission didn't require an environmental assessment of project impacts, the Sierra Club says.

The commission approved Castle & Cooke Homes' proposed 3,200-home Koa Ridge subdivision for urban use in June, following 10 months of hearings at which some Oahu residents questioned its potential impacts on groundwater supply and crowding of schools and roadways.

Yesterday an attorney for the Sierra Club argued before Circuit Judge Eden Elizabeth Hifo that the approval was improper.

The Land Use Commission decision "makes nonsense of the statutory regulation that an environmental assessment be done at the earliest practicable time," Isaac Hall said.

Castle & Cooke attorney Bruce Lamon argued that the developer provided the Land Use Commission with "far more than the functional equivalent of an environmental assessment" during its hearings on the matter.

Hall countered that the Hawaii Supreme Court has twice ruled that only a formal environmental assessment, with its requirements such as public hearings, is acceptable under the law.

Hifo took the case under advisement yesterday after about three hours of arguments.

Assistant attorneys general for the Land Use Commission and state Planning Office argued that the commission didn't actually approve development of the lands in question, but merely reclassified its use.

Calling their argument "disingenuous," Hall said it's obvious that the Land Use Commission ruling allowed the development to move forward.

Castle & Cooke attorney Richard Mirikitani said yesterday that the company has contracted with Helber, Hastert & Fee Planners for an environmental assessment, needed for county zoning approval, and that it could be ready later this year.

In addition to Castle & Cooke's housing plans, Pacific Health Community Inc. wants to build a new Wahiawa Hospital and medical complex on 210 acres of land it would buy from Castle & Cooke.

The medical segment would be the first phase developed, with the first medical facilities possibly ready this year.

The earliest homes in the Koa Ridge subdivision would be available in 2007, Castle & Cooke President Harry Saunders III has said.