KAHUKU, Oahu — Gov. Neil Abercrombie has signed legislation to preserve more than 665 acres of land on Oahu’s North Shore.
The deal was reached with Turtle Bay Resort near the end of the legislative session. Lawmakers scrambled to adjust the budget and approved $40 million in revenue bonds.
Abercrombie signed the bill authorizing those bonds Monday.
The money will go to the resort to keep nearly 79 percent of the resort’s land hotel-free. The City and County of Honolulu is chipping in $5 million and the Trust for Public Land is adding $3.5 million.
Abercrombie says the deal will protect pristine coastline from development and provide open space and access for everyone.
He says it took years of effort from the city, state, Trust for Public Land and Turtle Bay Resort.