Sharks Cove retail center to focus on North Shore residents’ needs

The developer of a property near Sharks Cove on the North Shore has agreed to limit the number of food trucks at the site to five and any other businesses at that location will not cater to tourists but instead focus on the needs of the neighborhood.

A lawsuit filed in January 2019 by a coalition of environmental groups and individuals, contesting commercial development of the 2.7-acre property adjoining Pupukea Foodland, across Kamehameha Highway from Sharks Cove, was settled Tuesday in an agreement signed by plaintiffs and the defendants, Hanapohaku LLC and the Honolulu City &County Department of Planning and Permitting.

The lawsuit complained the city had issued Special Management Area development permits to the developer without sufficient review and failed to adequately enforce violations in an area zoned to preserve its rural character under the North Shore Community Plan.

Hanapohaku was given a permit from the city in 2018 to build 32,000 square feet of retail space over three buildings of two stories each plus parking. That plan was not altered by the settlement reached Tuesday.

The settlement Tuesday was limited to issues such as the number of food trucks, the nature of business to be conducted at the site and pollution controls.

The complaint alleged that after purchasing the property, Hanapohaku “commenced unpermitted development, subsequently found to be illegal,” and sought to compel the developer and city to comply with state and county laws, adding that if either defendant failed to ensure a lack of significant adverse impact, or failed to provide full, transparent and accountable compliance to the public, the plaintiffs and the North Shore community would have immediate recourse.

“We’re happy — it provides significant protections for the sensitive marine environment, the rural character of the community and the neighborhood after many years,” said Pupukea resident Denise Antolini, president of co-plaintiff Malama Pupukea Waimea.

A previous owner of the site, Honu Group Inc., touched off heavy opposition when it announced plans in the early 2000s to build a $17 million shopping center that included five buildings housing 53 stores, underground parking for about 200 cars and space for commercial buses to drop off tourists. Hanapohaku scaled back those plans after buying the site in 2014.

Tuesday’s agreement says the site should be used for businesses such as urgent care, doctors offices, banking, postal services, pharmacies, hardware or garden supplies.

Antolini said in 2014 there were four small buildings holding businesses, plus one food truck, on the property, “but after Hanapohaku bought it, it went to 10-11 food trucks, and we also saw a lot of grading and grubbing on the site.”

The lawsuit listed concerns about adverse impacts to traffic circulation, pedestrian safety, marine water quality, beach access, recreation, litter and next-door neighbors on Pahoe Road.

The settlement agreement “sets in stone standards for compliance with the zoning and the law that applies to this property, (including) that development not cater to tourists but instead focus on the needs of the neighborhood,” Antolini said.

No more than five food trucks will be allowed, and no parking or drop-offs by tourist vans or buses will be permitted.

Hanapohaku also agreed to “two huge things” to protect Sharks Cove. The developer will install a new drainage system “that should prevent stormwater runoff, and they committed to zero pollution and we will be monitoring that,” Antolini added.

The settlement further requires that the developer install fencing and landscaping to screen the site from neighbors on Pahoe Road along the development’s northern boundary, and that the developer pay a $30,000 fine to settle its accumulated fines for violations.

“We are proud to have worked together to come up with a settlement,” Andrew Yani, co-owner of Hanapohaku LLC with Cully Judd, wrote in an email to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

He said Hanapohaku was committed to protecting the Marine Life Sanctuary at Sharks Cove and looked forward to a project “we believe truly serves the North Shore community,” including by providing “much-needed economic opportunities.”

Yani added Hanapohaku had set out to “carefully follow the North Shore Sustainable Communities Plan that envisions a small, ‘Rural Community Commercial Center’ at the project’s location” and “ended up with a center much smaller than what is allowed by code and that complies with all environmental laws and SMA regulations.”

In an email, Dean Uchida, director designate of DPP, commented, “The City believes that the settlement agreement is an appropriate resolution,” confirming that “as part of the settlement, DPP agreed to amend its administrative rules to make information about its civil fines process more clear and available to the public.”

Other plaintiffs in the case were Save Sharks Cove Alliance, Surfrider Foundation, Hawaii’s Thousand Friends, and residents Larry McElheny, John Theist and Cora Sanchez.