Posted on: Friday, February 22, 2002

Council is premature in condemnation vote

There's a relatively strong argument that city condemnation of private land in Waikiki for Outrigger's massive resort redevelopment project can meet the test of a "public purpose."

But this was not the time to launch that process. The City Council should have given ongoing negotiations between the hotel company and five private landowners time to evolve, with the hope that private market forces would resolve the situation.

One of the landowners complained that agreement appeared near in those talks. If that is the case, the council's action to condemn the land in effect unfairly intrudes heavily in the negotiations on the side of Outrigger.

The Outrigger redevelopment appears desirable indeed, not only for the hotel company's bottom line and the public's interest in the overall presentability of Waikiki, but for the five private landowners, too.

Indeed, they have not opposed Outrigger's plans; they merely are seeking what they believe is fair compensation for their good fortune in owning land without which Outrigger can't proceed.

Assuming that agreement would sooner or later have been reached, then the council's action will have affected not the outcome, but Outrigger's price. That effect clearly is not a public purpose.

There are other reasons why the council should have waited.

One is precedent. Now it will be tougher for the council to say no to the next private developer who wants the city's help in acquiring someone else's property.

Another is the strong opposition to the council's action by Gov. Ben Cayetano, who has introduced legislation taking the power of condemnation away from the counties.

While it is easy to argue that Cayetano is right in trying to stop this particular condemnation, the permanent stripping of county condemnation powers by the state makes for bad public policy.

As with earlier ill-considered proposals to have the state take over master planning efforts for Waikiki, this creates unnecessary overlap of county and state planning powers. This should be the county's job, but it is a job that should be done right.

The Outrigger project has great potential for setting a new urban design standard for Waikiki. How much better if it could proceed without the heavy hand of government making it happen over the objections of private landowners.

Now that the council has voted, the next steps of the condemnation process will take a matter of weeks, during which agreement between the parties may — indeed should — be reached. But in many respects, the harm of this intervention already will have been done.