Kahuku Wind farm opponents take fight to zoning board

The nonprofit Keep the North Shore Country is taking its fight against the Kahuku wind project to the Honolulu Zoning Board of Appeals, charging that the city wrongfully permitted the turbines to be located closer to homes and schools than should be allowed under the Land Use Ordinance.

In a petition filed Monday, the group is asking the panel to rescind four approvals Acting Planning Director Kathy Sokugawa granted to AES Corp. for its Na Pua Makani wind farm.

In October and November, protesters blocked the transport of turbine parts to the construction site. Police made more than 200 arrests to clear the road, allowing AES to began construction.

AES hopes to have eight wind turbines complete and operational by the summer. To date, five of the eight turbines have been constructed. A spokesman for the company said it is following all applicable rules.

Opponents argue that the turbines are too close to farmworker dwellings, the Kahuku Fire and Police Station, the Kahuku Medical Center and Kahuku Elementary and High School, posing a health threat.

Lance Collins, an attorney for Keep the North Shore Country, said the land use ordinance requires a wind machine to be set back a distance that’s at least equal to its height. The Na Pua Makani turbines range in height from 591 to 656 feet, but the city has granted waivers allowing them as close as 284 feet from the property line, he said.

The land use ordinance prohibits the city from modifying the minimum standards for conditional use, he said.

On a separate point, the city approvals included a condition that a $2 million community benefits package directly assist the Kahuku community, Collins said. Instead, many of those benefits have been going to help neighboring communities, including the Laie Community Association, or the North Shore region as a whole, he said.

The petition seeks to revoke the permits and require AES to move two of the turbines farther away from adjacent properties and/or lower the heights of the two machines.

Mark Miller, AES chief operating officer for U.S. Generation Businesses, said in a statement that the wind project has received all permits and approvals necessary to proceed with construction. “We do not anticipate any further delay in completing construction and delivering the vitally- needed renewable energy to help power Hawaii’s future.”

Keep the North Shore Country is also fighting the project in state court, arguing that the 25-megawatt project is likely to have an adverse impact on the endangered Hawaiian hoary bats that populate the area.

City spokesman Alex Zannes said the city has not been served with the complaint and could not comment.