Kahuku Golf Course purchase could mean more than just an expensive round

Honolulu City Councilman Ernie Martin says a Chinese company wants to buy Kahuku Golf Course, the only public golf course in the North half of the island, from current land-owners Continental Pacific. The city currently has a year-to-year lease on the property and the kama‘aina rate for a round of golf is only $9 on weekdays and $10 on the weekends.

According to Martin,the sale could take place within the next 60 days. He believes the Chinese company intends to keep the property as a golf course and also make improvements to it. Facebook comments from the public do not share his optimism.

Facebook user Dedduck writes: “Don’t count on it! The Chinese company has way bigger plans for the land and it sure is not a golf course. First they buy the land and then they buy the politician, if he isn’t bought already. Now comes the mega development, so watch out Kahuku residents and also surrounding towns; traffic will come.”

While golf courses aren’t high on my list of things to write about, development definitely is. The Ko‘olau Loa community is already dealing with the Ko‘olau Loa Sustainable Communities Plan (which includes a great deal of the Envision Lā‘ie plan) which has already passed first reading with the City Council and, if adopted, would mean a large-scale development centered around BYU and the Polynesian Cultural Center. I’m inclined to agree with Dedduck, at least in my suspicion that Kahuku Golf Course won’t be a golf course after this Chinese company gets a hold of it.

The Kahuku Community Association sponsored a resolution that encourages the city to take possession of this parcel and the Ko‘olau Loa Neighborhood Board unanimously endorsed this initiative. Last year, the City Council unanimously passed a resolution to have the city acquire the parcel. Then-mayor Peter Carlisle, as well as current mayor Kirk Caldwell, both declined to act on the resolution, saying that the matter was not a municipal affair.

Kent Fonoimoana, a member of the Ko’olau Loa Neighborhood Board (#28) has started a petition on Change.org to convince the mayor to keep the golf course municipal. “As our island population grows, we need more municipal facilities - not less,” says Fonoimoana.

To:
Kirk Caldwell, Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu
Ernest Martin, Honolulu City Council Chair
Ann Kobayashi, Honolulu City Council Budget Chair
Aloha Mayor Kirk Caldwell,

I encourage you to explore avenues that will enable the City and County of Honolulu to keep Kahuku Golf Course a municipal recreation area in perpetuity for the use of O’ahus citizens.
The Kahuku Community Association has requested that you condemn and take possession of the parcel which includes the existing Kahuku Golf Course. The Ko’olauloa Neighborhood Board unanimously approved Kahuku Community Association’s resolution to condemn or purchase the Kahuku Golf Course. This is the only municipal golf course that serves the Northern half of O’ahu and to place it in private hands may make affordable golf a memory to those residents who utilize Kahuku Golf Course.

We strongly urge you to take immediate and prudent action to preserve this parcel for the use of O’ahu’s residents.