Committee advances amended SMA permit for subsea cable landing expansion at Kahe Point amid neighborhood environmental concerns
March 06, 2026 | Honolulu City, Honolulu County, Hawaii
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The Committee on Zoning and Planning advanced Resolution 26-29 (CD1) to grant a Special Management Area major permit to Hawaii Iki Submarine Cable USA LLC to expand the existing Kahe Point cable landing station.
Chair Kia Aina summarized DPP-requested verbal amendments to Condition B addressing archaeological and cultural resources, mirroring changes made earlier in the meeting (replacing the term referring to "e kupuna" with "human burials, including e kupuna" and deleting a phrase referencing SHPD-approved protocols from the condition's final sentence).
David Slesser, project manager for the submarine cable project, told the committee the work uses horizontal directional drilling to avoid trenching and surface disturbance; the application does not propose additional above-ground structures. He said the project will make the landing site "future ready" by creating three conduits and thereby attract future cable owners without repeating large-scale shore construction. Slesser described the project as part of the state's Hawaii Connect initiative and said DPP-requested changes were understood.
DPP staff noted the project's environmental assessment was completed and that the State Department of Land and Natural Resources issued a Finding of No Significant Impact on June 24, 2025; DPP also cited an archaeological AIS conducted May 20, 2024, by Kealopono Archaeological Consulting. The chair acknowledged a letter from the chair of the Nanakuli-Maile Neighborhood Board No. 36 expressing concerns about potential physical damage, pollution, and microbiological changes to offshore coral and marine ecosystems; DPP said those concerns in portions of the project located within the State Land Use Conservation District will be evaluated under that separate approval process.
After discussion and with no objections recorded, the committee amended the resolution to CD1 as proposed and reported the CD1 out for adoption.
Chair Kia Aina summarized DPP-requested verbal amendments to Condition B addressing archaeological and cultural resources, mirroring changes made earlier in the meeting (replacing the term referring to "e kupuna" with "human burials, including e kupuna" and deleting a phrase referencing SHPD-approved protocols from the condition's final sentence).
David Slesser, project manager for the submarine cable project, told the committee the work uses horizontal directional drilling to avoid trenching and surface disturbance; the application does not propose additional above-ground structures. He said the project will make the landing site "future ready" by creating three conduits and thereby attract future cable owners without repeating large-scale shore construction. Slesser described the project as part of the state's Hawaii Connect initiative and said DPP-requested changes were understood.
DPP staff noted the project's environmental assessment was completed and that the State Department of Land and Natural Resources issued a Finding of No Significant Impact on June 24, 2025; DPP also cited an archaeological AIS conducted May 20, 2024, by Kealopono Archaeological Consulting. The chair acknowledged a letter from the chair of the Nanakuli-Maile Neighborhood Board No. 36 expressing concerns about potential physical damage, pollution, and microbiological changes to offshore coral and marine ecosystems; DPP said those concerns in portions of the project located within the State Land Use Conservation District will be evaluated under that separate approval process.
After discussion and with no objections recorded, the committee amended the resolution to CD1 as proposed and reported the CD1 out for adoption.
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