The city has given Kuilima Resort Co. six more months to meet requirements that will set the stage for a major expansion at Turtle Bay Resort.

The routine extension was granted recently and could be extended for an additional six months.

The time is needed to meet seven conditions that include everything from a well and a wastewater system to developing maps and constructing Kuilima Drive, said Nathan Hokama, Kuilima Resort spokesman.

All seven conditions must be met before the city Department of Planning and Permitting will give final approval to the expansion, Hokama said. Tentative approval was granted in 2006.

Kuilima Resort Co. has been looking for a buyer or development partner for the project, and final approval of the expansion by the city would allow the land at Turtle Bay Resort to be subdivided, Hokama said.

"That would allow Kuilima Resort Co. to sell the individual parcels or sell the property as a whole," he said, adding that if it sold as a whole, the owner could find partners to develop the land. "Whatever route it takes, all of that would be subject to the unilateral agreement and other permits."

Oaktree Capital Management owns Kuilima Resort Co., which includes the Turtle Bay Resort. Under a 20-year-old unilateral agreement, the company is allowed to build hotels and condominiums on its 880 acres with no more than 3,500 units and four public parks.

The community has come down on both sides of this issue, with some residents glad to see potential employment opportunities and others opposing the expansion, saying it would change the character of the area and increase problems such as traffic.

The city granted tentative approval a year ago, and the developer is eligible for two six-month extensions, without conditions, said Henry Eng, director of the city Department of Planning and Permitting.

"Subsequent extensions require that the applicant have approved construction plans and that the construction of improvements has commenced," Eng wrote in an e-mail.

The extensions are given for six months at a time, with this first extension ending March 29.

Mark Cunningham, with the Defend Oahu Coalition, said the group's initial reaction to the extension was anger, but now it sees this as a kind of victory because it seems to indicate that the company isn't able to find an investor for the expansion.

"We really hope this will act as perhaps an opportunity to, instead of going forward with the development, to come and talk to the community on what other options might exist for all that land," Cunningham said.

Hokama said the company is still looking for an investor.

Two other groups have filed appeals asking the court to require a supplemental environmental impact statement for the project. Gil Riviere, with Keep the North Shore Country, said the appeal, joined by Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter, is moving forward.

Riviere believes that the supplemental EIS would not support the development of the area.

"We feel very strongly (the court will) rule in our favor," he said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.