ISLAND VOICES
Leasehold vote didn't serve public

By Dr. Hamilton McCubbin
Chief executive officer at Kamehameha Schools

City Council's wisdom and leadership took a back seat to political expediency when agreeing to condemn land.

Honolulu's City Council had an opportunity Dec. 4 to demonstrate leadership and wisdom by weighing public vs. private interests and then choosing between them based on their merits. Unfortunately, wisdom and leadership took a back seat to political expediency.

In their last meeting of the year, the council passed three resolutions, each by votes of 5 to 4, to clear the way for the city to condemn land owned by Kamehameha Schools, the United Methodist Church and the Kekuku/Jensen family trust.

The council heard the voices of nearly 200 constituents who asked them to vote against taking land from these landowners for the private benefit of others using Chapter 38, the city's condominium condemnation ordinance.

They heard from members of the Kamehameha 'ohana — students, parents, teachers, alumni, staff and trustees. They heard from small landowners trying to preserve their family inheritances. Native Hawaiians spoke in defense of Hawaiian trust lands and family kuleana parcels. The United Methodist Church urged the council to leave the church's land to support its work. These voices were strong, but they fell on deaf ears.

Certain council members felt compelled to rubber stamp the Department of Housing and Community Development's designation of these lands for condemnation on the wrong assumption that they had no legislative discretion whatsoever to reject them, once put forward. In doing so, they abdicated their responsibility to consider whether an actual public purpose is served by these condemnations, and whether the applicants were indeed qualified under Chapter 38.

The overwhelming message voiced at the Dec. 4 hearing was that the public interest is better served by leaving these lands in the hands of the landowners, charitable and religious organizations whose core missions are to serve public needs, rather than to satisfy the private wants of a few lessees. This message was unheeded.

However, the worst insult to the constituents may have been the council's indifference to specific written testimony that several applicants appear to have violated the spirit and intent of Chapter 38. The ordinance gives lessees who do not own fee simple residential property on O'ahu an opportunity to buy the leased fee interest to their apartments. For example:

• One lessee applicant appears to own, through a trust, a fee simple apartment in Honolulu and a fee simple residential property in Wai'alae Iki.
• Other lessee applicants appear to have recently conveyed their Makiki residential fee property into a limited liability company, and therefore do not "own" other fee property in Honolulu.
• Several lessee applicants hold titles to other properties on O'ahu, on the Neighbor Islands or elsewhere in the country, and therefore already enjoy the benefits of land ownership.

By ignoring these disturbing facts and abdicating their responsibility to consider the merits of the designations, the council shifted all responsibility and accountability for these condemnations to the executive branch of city government.

This strategy leaves us stunned, especially since the city has never successfully prosecuted any condemnation action under Chapter 38. In fact, as a result of a number of previously bungled condemnation attempts, the Hawai'i courts have ordered the city to pay more than $500,000 in legal fees to Kamehameha Schools. These costs will ultimately be paid by taxpayers, who should be concerned that these most recently approved condemnations may incur further fees and costs should they be challenged in court.

Given the level and depth of dissatisfaction this council decision has aroused in the community, we urge Mayor Harris to follow the lead of our newly elected governor, who stated, "... the state's social and economic landscape has evolved dramatically and I am extremely concerned about the impact mandatory lease-to-fee conversion could have on small landowners, charitable trusts and Hawai'i's already anti-business reputation."

Mayor Harris should object to the council's actions and allow a more thoughtful, open discussion of this issue without the pressure of imminent condemnation.