Hana Ranch creates land preserve
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
WAILUKU, Maui — The owners of Hana Ranch have agreed to preserve 41 acres of undeveloped oceanfront property, following through on a promise they made when acquiring the land two years ago.
Maui Coastal Land Trust
Seven parcels located three miles south of Hana town at Maka'alae Point will be protected from building or development in a conservation easement agreement signed with the Maui Coastal Land Trust.
Forty-one acres of oceanfront property south of Hana at Maka'alae Point will be protected from development under an agreement by the owners of Hana Ranch, who made the promise on acquiring the land.
Under the agreement, Hana Ranch will continue to own the land and enjoy land-tax benefits. The nonprofit Maui Coastal Land Trust will oversee the property, ensuring that current agricultural use, views and public access remain unchanged in perpetuity.
The contract also calls for Hana Ranch to establish an endowment fund to help pay for the land trust's ongoing protection efforts.
When Hana Acquisition Partners LLC bought the property two years ago for $24 million, members of the hui promised to tread lightly, stating publicly that they would develop with the lowest possible impact and impose conservation easements to protect archaeological and cultural sites.
The hui's executive committee includes members actively involved in conservation, such as Roy O'Connor, president of Montana Land Reliance; William A. Newsom, a member of the advisory board for the Trust for Public Lands; and James Miller, a former director of the Nature Conservancy of Montana.
Zoning for the property would have allowed the ranch to develop a couple dozen houses.
"The owners of Hana Ranch have set an incredible example for land conservation in the state of Hawai'i,'' said Tom Pierce, president of the Maui Coastal Land Trust.
Although scores of conservation easements have been established on the Mainland, this is the first for Hawai'i, said Dale Bonar, executive director of the Maui Coastal Land Trust.
The pact also represents the first land conservation agreement by the 2-year-old Wailuku-based trust, whose mission reads: "To acquire, preserve and protect coastal lands in Maui Nui (Maui, Moloka'i, Lana'i) for the integrity of the natural environment and the enjoyment of current and future generations."
The organization is working on several other deals, including the purchase of coastal land in Waihe'e once earmarked for a destination golf resort.
With new offices in Wailuku, the Maui Coastal Land Trust is the state's first fully staffed local land trust organization, Bonar said.
