Judge stalls Oahu resort redevelopment over outdated environmental reviews

(CN) — An environmental court halted Tuesday the expansion of a resort on Oahu’s North Shore in Hawaii due to its proximity to conservation lands and increased native bee habitat.

A Ritz-Carlton resort at Kuilima will not be issued building permits for redevelopment until more environmental studies analyzing any potential harm to an area commonly referred to as Turtle Bay are completed, after Hawaii First Circuit Judge Shirley Kawamura granted a motion for summary judgment.

The court instructed the city and county of Honolulu to require further environmental review as it relates to the endangered nalo meli maoli, or Hawaiian yellow-faced bees, which have moved more into the region during the 13 years of planned redevelopment.

“Even viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving parties, plaintiffs have demonstrated that nalo meli maoli are not only found in the 2013 Project Area but have an increased presence as of 2025, having been sighted in areas where they were not previously observed despite frequent research monitoring,” Kawamura wrote.

The Center for Biological Diversity, the Conservation Council for Hawaii and the community group Kūpa‘a Kuilima filed a lawsuit in February, saying the environmental review was outdated and needed supplemental impact statements.

“The court’s decision affirms that Hawaii’s bedrock environmental review laws are more than just a rubber-stamping paper exercise,” Dru Hara, an Earthjustice attorney representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “The county must engage with the community, ensure an honest assessment of impacts and take steps to minimize harm to the exceptional species that we now know are thriving on the Kuilima coastline.”

The plaintiffs argued that, during the 13 years between the resort’s first environmental reviews being completed and this year, important changes occurred, including the nalo meli maoli’s placement on the federal endangered species list in 2016.

“This is an important step to protect species and ecosystems found only in Hawaii,” Jonee Peters, executive director of the Conservation Council for Hawaii, said in a statement. “We must ensure that any development in Kuilima properly accounts for how it would affect the surrounding environment and provide measures to prevent environmental harm.”

The plaintiffs noted Turtle Bay has also become an important nesting site for Laysan albatross and is critical habitat for endangered Hawaiian monk seals.

However, Kawamura wrote in a footnote of her order that her granting of a summary judgment was not due specifically to the impacts on the albatross and monk seal, as mitigation efforts were already addressed in previous environmental impact statements.

The Ritz-Carlton Oahu, Turtle Bay did not immediately respond to a request for comment.