Koolau Loa Sustainable Communities Plan

The revised developmental master plan for the rural northwest coast of Oahu was adopted in 2013 (KLSCP). The plan seeks to preserve Koolau Loa’s country character and distinctive sense of “old Hawaii.” Some of its measures for accomplishing this include geographic boundaries and policies which define how community needs should be balanced with the protection and enhancement of Koolau Loa’s spectacular natural, scenic and cultural qualities. At the same time that these guidelines were being created, a massive development—referred to as Envision Laie—was pushed for by the Church of Latter Day Saints, which has a large enclave in the coastal town of Laie connected to both the Brigham Young University campus there and the Polynesian Cultural Center. The development was met with intense resistance by residents in the region’s other coastal towns where the Mormon population is substantially lower and, out of this clash, some of the KLSCP measures ensuring the continued rural nature of the region were actually solidified.