Save Sandy Beach Initiative Coalition/Ka Iwi records
Scope and Contents
The Save Sandy Beach Initiative Coalition/Ka Iwi Records Collection is split into four series chronicling efforts to oppose housing development along the Ka Iwi coastline. The contents range between 1970-2008 and the bulk of the contents are between the years 1986-1989.
Series 1: Save Queen’s Beach (1981-1986)
Series 2: Save Sandy Beach (1986-1989)
Series 3: Restore Land Use Initiative (1989-1992)
Series 4: Public Land Purchase Phase (1992-2002)
Series 1, ‘Save Queen’s Beach’ (1981-1986), which began as two grassroots groups, contains administrative records, correspondence, legal documents, newspaper clippings, information about organizations, and public relations materials.
Series 2, ‘Save Sandy Beach’ (1986-1989), continued the efforts of the ‘Save Queen’s Beach’ campaign to opposed housing development across the highway from Sandy Beach coastline. The records pertain to opposing the housing development and to passing the land use initiative on the general election ballot of 1988 to downzone the area from residential to preservation. The majority of the citizens throughout the state voted in support of downzoning, however the Hawai’i sState Court overturned the results in 1989. This series contains administrative records, correspondence, legal documents, newspaper clippings, information about organizations, and public relations materials.
Series 3. ‘Restore Land Use Initiative’ (1989-1992), documents the phase in which the coalition worked to persuade the State of Hawaiʻi Legislature to amend state law following the Supreme Court ruling to restore land use voting rights to the public. This series contains materials that document the organization’s meetings, land use initiative efforts, Hawaiʻi Supreme Courtʻs written opinion invalidating the land use initiative election results, and the ongoing efforts to have the Site Legislature restore the land use initiative.
Series 4. ‘Public Land Purchase Phase’ (1992-2002), follows the organization’s efforts to purchase the land for conservation, the State’s purchase of QUeen’s Beach from Bishop Estate, and the City and County of Honolulu’s purchases of land parcels.
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found in 1970-2008
Agency History
Queen's Beach Phase (1981-1986)
The Save Sandy Beach Initiative Coalition has a very rich history with beginnings in 1981-1986 as the Save Queenʻs Beach Association, and its successor, Friends of Queen's Beach to oppose development in the Queen's Beach section of Oʻahu east shore coastline from the Makapuʻu Lighthouse access road to the Wawamalu Beach. The group consisted of 6-12 people and had a support network that numbered into the hundreds.
Save Sandy Beach Phase (1986-1989)
In 1986, the group opposed a proposed housing development across the highway from the Sandy Beach coastline. This coastline encompassed Wawamalu Beach (“Alan Davis”) rock wall to build houses. In response to the City Council approval, the grassroots groups birthed the Save Sandy Beach Defense Fund, and brought a lawsuit against a land use initiative ballot so the people of Hawaiʻi could vote to downzone the area from a residential zone to a preservation zone in the 1988 election. In this election, 66% of the majority voted to downzone the area, however the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court stripped voters of their land use initiative voting rights and overruled this decision in 1989. In response the group continued to conduct other actions to halt development such as communications and planning with the community, voter registration drives, petition drives, mailings, public events, coordination with environmental groups, beach and highway cleanups, presentations to Neighborhood Boards, City Council testimony, public demonstrations, and sign waving.
Restore Land Use Initiative Phase (1989-1992)
The work done by the group during 1989-1992 is characterized as the ‘Restore Land Use Initiative’ phase. At that time, meetings were conducted for the purpose of restoring the land use initiative for zoning decisions by the state legislature that the Hawai’i State Supreme Court invalidated in June 1989. Through 1992 the group unsuccessfully continued to advocate for the restoration of the land use initiative.
Public Land Purchase Phase (1992-2002)
From 1992 through 2002, the group entered into a ‘public land purchase’ phase. In 1998 under the Cayetano administration, the State of Hawaiʻi successfully purchased Queen’s Beach from Bishop Estate. IN 2002, the City and County of Hawai’i was also successful in purchasing gold course parcels 5 and 6, the parcels were included in the 1988 Save Sandy Beach Initiative election.
Extent
5 Linear Feet
Language
English
Overview
The Save Sandy Beach Initiative Coalition/Ka Iwi records collection contains documents related to organization's grassroots efforts to preserve Queen's Beach and Sandy Beach along the Ka Iwi coastline of east Oʻahu. The records are grouped into four series that chronologically reflect the movements of the organization: Queen's Beach Phase (1981-1986), Save Sandy Beach Phase (1986-1989), REstore Land Use Initiative Phase (1989-1992), and Public Land Purchase Phase (1992-2002). Within each series, there are administration, correspondence, legal, newspaper clippings, organizations, and public relations files.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These records were donated by Phil Estermann, of Honolulu, Hawai'i, in January 2010 to the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Library.
Processing Information
This collection was processed in Fall 2015 by LIS 652 under the direction of Danian Skeem as a final course project. After the semester, Kapena Shim with the help of Ellie Keola, a LIS 652 student volunteer finished the processing.
- Title
- Save Sandy Beach Initiative Coalition/Ka Iwi records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Kapena Shim, Danian Skeem, Ellie Keola
- Date
- November 2016
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Libraries Repository