Do you love historic and rural Haleʻiwa - and the agriculture and open spaces of the North Shore? Then please kōkua and add your voice to ʻAʻole Backyards!  Join us in opposing the unwanted urbanization of Haleʻiwa by signing this petition now.

We ask our City Council, the Mayor, and the Department of Planning and Permitting to reverse course and say ʻAʻole! to (1) the Backyards State Land Use District Boundary Amendment that would allow another large commercial center and dense ‘un-affordable’ housing in Haleʻiwa by (1) converting 7 acres of land from Agriculture to Urban and (2) re-zoning for apartments and commercial. Now is the time to stand up strong for Haleʻiwa and say ʻAʻole! to outsiders who are pushing for gentrification and say ʻAe! to a sustainable rural future for our country town. 

Why do we oppose Backyards?

Haleʻiwa, a historic community on the North Shore of Oʻahu, is a vibrant small town that thrives on its unique rural charm and respects its plantation legacy. Today, Haleʻiwa is facing significant challenges due to increased traffic, inadequate infrastructure to handle exploding tourism, and a renewed attempt by developer Andy Anderson to build a large-scale commercial and housing development right in the heart of Haleʻiwa. This massive and dense project that will forever alter the landscape and change the future of the area from Agricultural to Urban. Residents from the North Shore and across Oʻahu who love Haleʻiwa have expressed overwhelming opposition and concern to this project due adverse impacts on the area’s rural lifestyle, infrastructure, and the preservation of their cultural heritage.

*Traffic congestion issues: Post-COVID, traffic congestion in Haleʻiwa has worsened substantially, making commute and daily errand times significantly longer and straining the town's infrastructure. Residents are heavily burdened every day by the time, expense, delay, and safety risk of congestion and traffic.  Yet the developer’s traffic analysis is 10 years old and the City Council has proposed giving it a pass on an critical update until the zoning stage.  ʻAʻole! 
*Threat of development: The proposed Haleiwa Backyard LLC project plans to build three-story apartment buildings with 156-160 units, 30,000 square feet of retail space, at least 500 parking stalls (some underground) and a wastewater treatment facility, which residents believe will disrupt the town's character, low density plan, and heritage. Access / easement to this proposed development would be through the narrow 20-foot wide ʻOpaeʻula Lane situated between a 200-year-old Liliʻuokalani Church and Cemetery and a long-time local business heavily relied on by residents. ʻAʻole!
*Housing: while saying repeatedly the proposal is “only conceptual,” the developer has framed his proposal around the need for “affordable” or “gap” housing in the community. The rents proposed start at $2500 for the 8 possible affordable units and up to $3800 for the rest of the “affordable” apartments with the balance at “market.” Not only are these very few promised units, but even this level is not truly affordable for most of the retail workers in Haleʻiwa (which is how the developer is pitching their proposal). The community is concerned that the housing will go to non-residents who can afford to pay more - e.g., military with housing allowances or groups of long-term vacationers who can afford to rent for 6 months or more for surf season. No controls on the housing promises at the land use boundary stage means there cannot be any trust from the community that has been burned by many developer promises. ‘Aʻole!
*The North Shore community does support affordable housing for residents and has been presented with another project called Mill Camp in Waialua that is in a much better location and has provided clear plans for legacy plantation family housing, truly affordable rentals, and senior apartments with the priority on our community. The Haleʻiwa Backyards project - sandwiched on a very narrow piece of land adjacent to the Joseph P. Leong Bypass – isn’t about housing – if it were, they would have chosen a better location. ʻAʻole!
*Community Sentiment and Values should be Honored. In the City Council meetings to date, the resident testimony opposed to Backyards has been overwhelming (328 opposed and only 3 in support in the last hearing).  Yet the community voice is ignored!  Residents who live, work, and play on the North Shore know best what is in their social, family, economic, environmental, and cultural interest - not downtown decision makers who have are unfamiliar with the site or current conditions on the North Shore.  ʻAʻole!
Please sign our petition to support these goals so that we can share your voice with the City before it is too late! 

***Get Activated, Get Involved, Be Alert and Stay MAKAʻALA to what’s happening on the North Shore. FOLLOW: @keephawaiipono @kupaakuilima on Instagram for updates!