by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 4:15 PM ET, Mon June 29, 2026
Score one for the environment and local communities.
Community members on Oahu’s north shore are expressing joy over the passage of a new law in Hawaii banning gondola development. The measure’s adoption follows years of local protests in response to plans to build a gondola on the side of Oahu’s Mount Kaala.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green officially signed Act 172, formerly House Bill 1881, on Friday, blocking development of commercial gondolas, cable cars and ropeways across the state, according to Hawaii News Now.
“Man, I can’t scream loud enough. If I do, somebody might call the police. But it’s so, you know, all the emotions kicked in,” Racquel Achiu, a longtime opponent of the proposed Mount Kaala gondola project said, according to Hawaii News Now.
Achiu added that “we’re in a time now where…local people are just sick and tired of just taking it, you know, just accepting it. And we really rallied, and we made an impact, and it was for good.”
Other project opponents had said that building a commercial gondola on the mountain was have caused traffic congestion in the area, while also negatively impacting the mountain.
“This was the wrong
project, for that area. It would have confounded the traffic on the
highway. It would have desecrated the hillside and the mountains. It was
just a terrible idea from the get-go," Gil Riviere, another project opponent, said.
The help ensure their voices and concerns were heard, locals staged demonstrations near the majestic mountain’s base.
The city’s Department of Planning and Permitting had also since decided that the proposal for a gondola on the mountain, put forth by Kaukonahua Ranch, was unsuitable.
Back in January however, the city had been reconsidering a permit for the project. During a public hearing, opponents, both feisty and emotional according to news reports, let local officials know they were not in favor of the plan.
While the gondola is no longer permitted, other agricultural elements of the project have been approved, according to Hawaii News Now.
Opponents said they will be paying close attention as details of the agricultural elements come to light.
“We’re just gonna have to watch to see what those are, because we’re now at a standstill, right? We there’s not a whole lot of trust between developer and community. So everything will be absolutely watchdogged without a doubt. And if there’s something else that we have to push back on, then we will 100%,” Achiu said.
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