About sixty people attended a community meeting in Kahuku yesterday for an update on two City Council resolutions that could affect efforts to block further development of Turtle Bay.

The meeting was hosted by Council member Donovan Dela Cruz and attended by council member and mayoral canidate Ann Kobayashi, and was strongly backed by the Defend Oahu Coalition.

Resolution 08-192 deals with the protection of cultural sites, and Resolution 08-193 calls for strict enforcement of shoreline protection laws before approving any permits for the Turtle Bay expansion, according to a summary provided before the meeting.

Kobayashi quickly drew applause by saying that she would not allow more development at Turtle Bay based on a 20-year old environmental impact statement.

Dela Cruz criticized the administration of Mayor Mufi Hannemann for having no active plan regarding the future of Turtle Bay, saying that a city representative attends Gov. Lingle’s Turtle Bay Advisory Working Group but has not played an active role.

Dela Cruz also faulted city attorneys for citing vague liability concerns as a reason for avoiding all discussion of the Turtle Bay issue.

“Corporation Counsel has directed the council to avoid the issues,” Dela Cruz said. He also criticized Council member Rod Tam for failing to schedule a hearing on the two resolutions.

“You shouldn’t be able to stop the public from expressing their opinions because of a liability issue,” Dela Cruz told the group.

Dela Cruz called for focusing development in Honolulu’s urban core.

“You have to make the city a city to keep the country country,” he said. “You either have to go up or out.”

He cited the example of the new high rise condominium across the street from Lex Brodie’s in Kakaako.

“If we didn’t have that building of 400 units, it would be a subdivision of 400 homes that would require its own roads, water and sewer system, school, fire station, and other infrastructure,” Dela Cruz argued, “all new infrastructure that you will have to pay with property tax.”

Developing within the existing urban area utilizes existing infrastructure and offers large cost savings.

Dee Dee Letts, chair of the Koolauloa Neighborhood Board, criticized the city for failing to support the Sustainable Communities planning process. Residents of the Koolauloa area have actively participated in the planning process and have requested specific data to support their decisions, but the process stalled after funding ran out and the consultants hired by the city declined to do any additional work on the project.

The first Sustainable Communities Plan was adopted in 1999, and the City Charter requires the plans to be updated every five years. Although people responded to the call to participate in neighborhood planning, the city failure to fully support the process made it a dead end for citizen participation.

Dela Cruz again pointed to the mayor’s office.

“We need to make sure we hold the right people accountable,” he said.

Dela Cruz said money intended to fund positions that remain vacant could be used to complete the planning process.

“The council writes the checks, the mayor signs them,” Dela Cruz said. “The mayor hasn’t spent the money.”

He also urged those present to call Rod Tam and ask him to hold hearings on two resolutions.

Interesting politics, with Rod Tam, who has always postured as a staunch backer of openness and sunshine, now the impediment to public discussion of this issue that’s key to those living on the North Shore and along the windward side of the island.