An aerial view of the Turtle Bay resort on the North Shore of Oahu. The new hotel will be to the right side of the Ritz-Carlton Oahu, Turtle Bay.

On the North Shore of Oahu, where its residents live by the phrase “Keep the country, country” and the number of hotels can be counted on one hand, a new development is being planned.

Host Hotels & Resorts, the owner of the Ritz-Carlton Oahu, Turtle Bay, wants to build a new hotel located on about 50 acres between Kawela Bay and Kuilima Point, next to the Ritz-Carlton. The proposed 375-room hotel would include a fitness center, spa, retail shops and restaurants.

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But Hawaii community and environmental groups are suing to stop it. “I think there’s a general sense of the community that enough is enough and we need to protect what we love, and we love this place,” North Shore resident Jessica dos Santos told Hawaii News Now. Her nonprofit Kupaa Kuilima is a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit challenges the determination of the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting that the proposed development project does not require additional environmental review. The groups argue that environmental conditions have changed substantially since the last review was completed in 2013, including new endangered species, altered ecosystems and greater development pressures.

“It’s terrible,” Maxx Phillips told SFGATE. Phillips is the Hawaii and Pacific Islands director and senior attorney for the nonprofit Center for Biological........

© SFGate