Homepage > Honolulu News

Protesters Cry Foul Over Building Permits

City Claims Hotel Permits Granted 20 Years Ago

POSTED: 6:32 pm HST June 26, 2007
UPDATED: 6:45 pm HST June 26, 2007

Opponents of new development on O'ahu said Tuesday the city is giving special treatment to the company that owns Turtle Bay Resort, but city officials said they disagreed with that claim.

Some residents said the city is fast-tracking permits to allow five new hotels to be built.

The "Defend O'ahu Coalition" said they were worried because Turtle Bay's owner, Oaktree, is negotiating the sale of the resort to Starwood Hotels.

The group gathered to urge the city to first address environmental and traffic concerns, activists said.

"We don't think it is appropriate that we should subject ourselves to bumper to bumper traffic," said Carol Phillips, the Defend O'ahu Coalition President.

The city's permitting office said there's no fast-tracking going on and that Oaktree got city permission to build more hotels at Turtle Bay 20 years ago.

The city said all Oaktree has now is a preliminary subdivision permit that was granted in September and added that it still needs to meet many more conditions before it can build.
KITV on Facebook
Links We Like
Don’t ruin your chances of landing that new job by making easy to correct mistakes on your cover letter. More

Don’t believe everything people tell you about home improvement. Check out the top 4 myths and stop throwing away your money. More

The signs of Cancer can sometimes be very subtle. Here's a guide to help you recognize them early. More

Living well with type-1 or type-2 diabetes can be easier than you might think. Use our diabetes resource guide. More

Job Searching Tips

Struggling to find a great job in a bad economy can be tough, but these eight tips can help improve your chances of landing a gig. More

Sponsored Links