Court sides against Sierra Club in reversal of Koa Ridge ruling

The Sierra Club of Hawaii’s record for blocking the Koa Ridge housing project in Central Oahu on legal grounds was reduced Friday in a ruling by the state Intermediate Court of Appeals.

The appellate court reversed a July 2011 Circuit Court decision that invalidated a 2010 state Land Use Commission approval of the 5,000-home project by developer Castle & Cooke between Wai­pio and Mililani.

The environmental organization argued that one commissioner, Duane Kanuha, was ineligible to serve. His vote was one of six necessary yes votes for Koa Ridge’s approval by the nine-member commission.

Kanuha’s four-year term expired in June 2009, and the state Senate rejected his appointment to a second term in April 2010. He remained on the commission as a holdover member by Gov. Linda Lingle until early last year.

The Sierra Club argued that Kanuha’s holdover status expired when he was rejected by the Senate, and Circuit Judge Karl Saka­moto agreed.

But the appellate court called Saka­moto’s ruling erroneous. "The Senate’s rejection of Kanuha’s appointment did not disqualify Kanuha from serving as a holdover," the court wrote in its decision. The court added that Kanuha couldn’t serve indefinitely because another appointment would be required within a reasonable period of time.

The new ruling clarifies the issue over the validity of holdover appointments to state commissions. But it has no affect on Koa Ridge. That’s because Castle & Cooke reapplied to the commission last year and won a new approval in June.

The Sierra Club is appealing that approval on different grounds. A judge has yet to hear the case.

A prior version of Koa Ridge also was stopped by the courts after a 2002 commission approval. In that case, the Sierra Club challenged the timing of an environmental impact statement. A Circuit Court judge agreed in 2003, and the Hawaii Supreme Court upheld the ruling in 2006.