The Turtle Bay Resort expansion is on hold after a Honolulu judge ordered a new environmental review, finding the city did not sufficiently assess the project’s impacts under state law.

The ruling marks a major win for environmental and community groups that argued the project’s guardrails were outdated and failed to account for endangered native bees, or nalo meli maoli, along the North Shore coastline.

“Our community is thrilled that the court has upheld our environmental protections today,” said Jessica dos Santos of Kūpaʻa Kuilima, a plaintiff group. She called Kuilima one of the last pristine stretches of Oʻahu’s coast and a culturally significant place for local residents.

Judge’s order cites Turtle Bay Resort expansion impacts

First Circuit Judge Shirley Kawamura ruled that a December confirmation letter from Honolulu permitting director Dawn Takeuchi Apuna to attorneys for Ritz-Carlton Oʻahu was arbitrary and capricious because it did not demonstrate the department had considered whether an updated environmental review was required.

The department had relied on a supplemental environmental impact statement issued 13 years ago to advance Host Hotels & Resorts’ plan for 375 residential and hotel units on 50 acres at Kawela Bay, known as parcel H-1.

At a July 2 hearing, attorneys for the coalition presented evidence of increased sightings of endangered Hawaiian yellow-faced bees in the project area since 2013. Two species, Hylaeus anthracinus and Hylaeus longiceps, listed under the federal Endangered Species Act in 2016, have been documented around the H-1 parcel, including during preliminary surveys by the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife.

The judge found that the bees’ increased presence constitutes new circumstances or evidence under Hawaiʻi’s Environmental Policy Act, triggering the need for a fresh review. The plaintiffs showed the development is more likely than not to affect native bee colonies, and the updated review must address their presence and potential mitigation measures.

The court did not make the same finding regarding Hawaiian monk seals or Laysan albatross cited by plaintiffs. However, the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting will have to account for other relevant changes, including coastal erosion and shifts in vegetation and land use within the parcel.

What comes next for the Turtle Bay Resort expansion

While the judgment directs the permitting department to require updated analysis, the environmental impact statement responsibility typically falls on the applicant. Host Hotels & Resorts acquired the parcel in May 2024 and outlined the project in the resort’s 2024 urban design plan, which did not include a firm construction start date.

On Tuesday, department spokesman Davis Pitner said the agency is reviewing the judgment and had no further comment. Host Hotels & Resorts spokeswoman Amy Hamstead said the company is evaluating its options, adding that its Hawaiʻi portfolio emphasizes sustainable, responsible ownership, conservation efforts, resilience investments, shoreline access and North Shore community engagement.

Environmental advocates praised the decision. “We’re thrilled with the ruling today,” said Earthjustice attorney Dru Hara. “The judgment affirms that the state’s environmental laws have meaning, our agencies are beholden to them and that endangered, near-threatened, native species deserve the protection that’s required under the law.”

Hara added that the department may no longer be able to lean on the 2013 review for future projects it once covered, potentially affecting developments adjacent to a 634-acre conservation easement approved a decade ago. The 2013 EIS was used to greenlight a 350-unit coastal project by Arete Collective between the current resort and Kahuku Point that began in August. The new ruling does not immediately change those plans.

According to city guidelines, preparing an environmental impact statement typically requires the applicant to consult with the permitting department, neighborhood boards and other stakeholders, a process that can take months to more than a year. There are also two public comment periods on the draft review, which must be approved by the state Environmental Review Program.

The plaintiffs include Kūpaʻa Kuilima, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Conservation Council for Hawaiʻi. The Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting and Host Hotels & Resorts are named as defendants.