Haleiwa Beach Park Property Saved From Auction Block, Possible Hotel Development

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A lawsuit has stopped the city and county of Honolulu from auctioning off a piece of public parkland on the North Shore.

Last year, a group of North Shore citizens formed the Save Hale’iwa Beach Park Coalition to fight a city plan to sell 3.5 acres of city-owned land near Haleiwa Beach Park.

The idea, pushed by the Carlisle administration, was to start a bidding war between the two adjacent property owners, Kamehameha Schools and former state Sen. D.G. “Andy” Anderson, who had said he wanted to put an 80-room hotel on the site.

But citizens on the North Shore brought a lawsuit saying the city hadn’t followed certain provisions of state law.

According to a press release from the Save Hale’iwa Beach Park Coalition, the city conceded to the argument and the lawsuit was dismissed.

There’s also $500,000 in the city budget to build a public canoe halau on the property, helping allay concerns that officials will try to sell the property again.

—Nick Grube

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