“The average cost for one EA can range anywhere from $50,000 all the way up to $200,000,” said Cabato. “It depends on the scope of the EA.”

Cabato adds that some EA’s will identify the need for a full-blown environmental impact statement, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional money.

The city is hoping entire regions on Oahu can be studied under a single environmental assessment, but there’s no guarantee. That means even on the low-end estimate, if every park requires a separate EA at $50,000 apiece, it would cost the city at least $14.4 million.

As far as Kailua and Kalama beach parks are concerned, Cabato believes he will go straight into an EIS for those areas, since residents have already identified direct impacts because of commercial ventures.

“The infrastructure, the roads, the neighborhood,” said Cabato, “So there's a significant impact just on the surface. I'm not an engineer, but just the lay person can figure that out.”