Preserving the Turtle Bay Property

Governor Lingle announced a bold plan for the State to acquire the Turtle Bay property on O‘ahu’s North Shore during her 2008 State of the State Address. Her vision is to protect the pristine, undeveloped lands and secure the long-term economic viability of the existing resort.

The 17-member Governor’s Turtle Bay Advisory Working Group will help develop and review various ideas, recommendations and plans that are being proposed on how to acquire the property. The Advisory Working Group will also serve as a communications channel to the Ko‘olauloa-North Shore communities.

Watch the Governor's remarks at the North Shore Chamber Installation Dinner:

Friday, July 18 - 1:00 p.m. - Olelo Channel 54
Friday, July 25 - 4:00 p.m. - Olelo Channel 54
Thursday, July 31 - 6:00 p.m. - Olelo Channel 49
Friday, August 1 - 6:00 p.m. - Olelo Channel 49

In an editorial in the Honolulu Advertiser, Bill Paty, chair of the Governor's Turtle Bay Advisory Working Group, wrote:

"Lingle asserted, and correctly so in my view, that 'far too long and too often, important pieces of rural Hawai`i have been sold to the highest bidder and then developed into something that forever changed the essence and character of the entire area.' As a community, regardless of whether we live in the city or country, on O`ahu or one of the other islands, we owe it to Hawai`i's future generations to preserve special places like the Turtle Bay property."

• Read the editorial.

The Governor’s Turtle Bay Advisory Working Group (TBAWG) held its eighth meeting on June 25, 2008. 

SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

Acquisition Options
 
Steve Metter, CEO and principal, MW Group, Ltd., and chair of the Acquisition Options Subcommittee, introduced Mr. Stanford Carr, who was recently hired by Oaktree Capital Management and resort creditors involved in the foreclosure action to serve as the new Interim Management Officer (IMO) and Development Manager. Carr indicated that the creditors had reached an agreement to stay the pending foreclosure action that allows the parties until October 1, 2008 to find a new buyer through a "clearing sale," after which time Oaktree will no longer be the property owner. 
 
Eastdil Secured LLC, a New York-based brokerage firm, is continuing to actively market the property for the owners-creditors, and Carr stated that there were many interested parties. Carr expressed concern about the "perfect storm" created by adverse financial market conditions, the downturn in tourism, and uncertainty about the property's future, which could decrease bookings and the resort's marketability to potential buyers. He also said that Oaktree and the lenders' priorities include regaining credibility in the community and gaining a better understanding of  the 1986 Unilateral Agreement (UA) with the City and County of Honolulu. He stated that the TBAWG and the resort share a common vision to keep the lands mauka of the resort in agricultural use. 
 
TBAWG members thanked Carr for agreeing to meet with the group. Carr discussed concerns expressed by members, covering issues such as the anticipated sale process; the feasibility of entitlement "cut-off" dates; the prospects of negotiations with the condominium owners for sale of the "fee"; possible effects of the "eminent domain" clause contained in the new Turtle Bay legislation on the marketability of the resort to new buyers; the potential depreciation of the asserted entitlements; the resort owner's responsibility for reassuring employees and the community about their long-term commitment; the resort's need for capital reinvestment; and Carr's intention to complete the conditions of the pending subdivision application with the City. Comments also focused on the charge of the TBAWG to ensure the "long-term viability" of the existing resort, and prospects for cooperation in the short-term toward this goal. Members also expressed the need and desire of the TBAWG to work in partnership with the resort and Carr as the discussion with potential buyers moves forward.
 
Technical Concerns
 
Speaking on behalf of DLNR director and committee chair Laura Thielen, Mitch Costino provided an interim report on the status of the City and County of Honolulu's 1986 Unilateral Agreement (UA) with the resort for the conditional zoning change. The committee's focus is on how the UA impacts the acquisition strategies being discussed by the Working Group. He stressed that the subcommittee believes that the continued and sustained operation of the Opana water system and the North Shore Wastewater Treatment facility, both located mauka of Kamehameha Highway, are important to any acquisition strategy currently under consideration and to the security of future resort owners as well as the existing users. Mr. Costino also reported on the various infrastructure and improvements that are required by the UA but have not yet been satisfied. Further details regarding the impact of those important issues will be addressed in subsequent committee reports to the working group.
 
GOVERNOR'S REMARKS AT NORTH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
 
Governor Lingle spoke to the North Shore Chamber of Commerce at their installation banquet on June 4 about the progress of the plan to protect Turtle Bay, and also signed into law two bills that strengthen the State's and community's ongoing collaborative efforts to preserve lands and natural resources for future generations. Watch the Governor's remarks on:
 
Friday, July 18 at 1:00 p.m. – 'Olelo Channel 54
Friday, July 25 at 4:00 p.m. – 'Olelo Channel 54
Thursday, July 31 at 6:00 p.m. – 'Olelo Channel 49
Friday, August 1 at 6:00 p.m. – 'Olelo Channel 49 
 
 
NEXT MEETING
 
The next meeting of the Turtle Bay Advisory Working Group is subject to the call of the chair and will be announced at a later date.