Coalition formed to prevent the sale of Haleiwa Beach Park land to developer Andy Anderson

HALEIWA—North Shore residents and various preservation groups recently assembled the Save Haleiwa Beach Park Coalition (SHBPC) with a mission to prevent an 80-unit hotel from being built on City and County of Honolulu park land, which borders Jameson’s restaurant in Haleiwa. The group is trying to prevent the land from being sold to developer Andy Anderson.

According to Antya Miller of the North Shore Chamber of Commerce, the planned hotel is set to be an exact replica of the historic Haleiwa Hotel.

SHBPC’s Peter Cole said the approximately four-acre parcel of land was obtained by the City in 1970 from Kamehameha Schools through eminent domain, specifically for the expansion of Haleiwa Beach Park.

“We are not against the hotel, we aren’t even addressing the hotel,” Cole said last Friday. “We just don’t want public land sold to private owners for development.”

Cole said that if the park land is sold to a developer, it could set off a chain reaction resulting in other public lands being used for private development.

According to the Sierra Club’s Oahu Group, the intended sale is “in direct contravention of an array of City and County policies and the North Shore Sustainable Communities plan.” The Sierra Club’s Executive Committee has decided to set aside $4,000 to “take all reasonable action necessary to block this plan.”

Michael Kliks, Chairman of the Sierra Club’s Conservation and Land Use Committee said: “All around the island our beaches are rapidly eroding. We should be building coalitions of users, like this one, to take actions to conserve whatever public space we have that is set back from the beachfront. In 30 years time, now-undeveloped public areas like the Haleiwa Regional Beach Park Mauka property will become cherished playgrounds for our children, and our children’s children. Andy [Anderson]‘s plans are not compatible with the wishes of the public or with the realities imposed by global climate change.”

The coalition held a protest near the property on Saturday and is currently circulating a petition against the sale for community members to sign. According to Miller, Anderson will hold a presentation about the proposed hotel on Tuesday at the North Shore Neighborhood Board meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the John Kalili Surf Center.

Coalition members include The Surfrider Foundation, the Hui O Hee Nalu, Waialua Hawaiian Civic Club, Hawaii’s Thousand Friends, Friends of Kaniloko, and the Sierra Club, Oahu Group.

The petition against the sale of the property can be found at SaveHaleiwaBeachPark.org.