Army gives $3 million to help coalition

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Army is pitching in $3 million to help keep a piece of the North Shore rural.

"This is beneficial for the Army and for the people of Hawai'i," said Col. David Anderson of U.S. Army Garrison Hawai'i, who announced yesterday that the Army is using money from the "Army Compatible Use Buffer" program to help a preservation coalition purchase 1,129 acres of Pupukea-Paumalu property.

The parcel is adjacent to the Army's Kahuku Training area and was slated for luxury home development.

The landowner is asking $12 million for the property.

The coalition hoping to buy it is made up of The Trust for Public Land (TPL), the North Shore Community Land Trust, the state of Hawai'i and the city and county of Honolulu.

The site dominates the bluffs along the North Shore. In addition to the Army's Kahuku training area, it is bordered by the Boy Scout and Girl Scout camps.

It overlooks surf breaks at Sunset Beach, Rocky Point, Pipeline and Log Cabins. Restricting development in the area, preservation groups say, would preserve water quality and the beauty of the coastline.

Hawaiian plants, cultural sites, state water reserves and historic sites would also be preserved, according to TPL.

The coalition hopes to turn the upper portion of the property over to the state park system. A smaller lower portion would be used by the city, most likely to expand Sunset Beach community park.

The coalition is also hoping to get money from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the state and the city.

TPL is a nonprofit group that works to preserve land nationwide. The North Shore Community Land Trust is a nonprofit conservation organization that works to preserve land and open space through voluntary land conservation.

Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.