Repeal of leasehold law likely to fail

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Despite protests from Hawaiian groups, a bill to repeal the city's 1992 mandatory leasehold conversion ordinance is in jeopardy today before the City Council.

A slim majority of five council members yesterday seemed poised to vote against the repeal instead of sending it to the Executive Matters committee for further discussion. Council Chairman John DeSoto, who introduced the repeal measure, was optimistic late yesterday afternoon that he would be able to tip the balance and get the bill advanced.

But council member Gary Okino, who last week cast the swing vote that effectively killed a bill that would have amended the leasehold conversion law, said yesterday he wasn't sure whether the ordinance should be set aside entirely.

He and other council members believe it should be up to the next council to decide the fate of the 10-year-old ordinance that allows condo lessees to purchase the land under their buildings.

Six of the nine council members' terms expire Jan. 2 because of term limits. Okino, Ann Kobayashi and Romy Cachola retained their seats in the primary election.

"I'm going to vote against (the repeal) and let the new council bring it up if it's appropriate at that time," Okino said yesterday.

Kobayashi said she would vote in favor of sending the bill to committee for discussion, but added, "I don't think it should be dealt with by this council. The time is too short and this is too big an issue, and certainly the next council can deal with it."

Cachola agreed the issue should be set aside until next year to give emotions some time to subside, whether or not the repeal survives today. "We should cut down the rhetoric and let the issue just rest a little bit," he said.

The controversy over the condo leasehold conversion ordinance was triggered by a Hawai'i Supreme Court decision May 30 that said the city was misinterpreting the ordinance.

The court held that leasehold conversion requires participation by at least 50 percent of the condominium owners, not just owner-occupants. That makes it harder for lessees to be eligible to buy the land under their condos, disqualifying all but 37 'Oahu condo complexes from conversion.

Bill 53, which would have restored the lower requirement of 50 percent of owner-occupants and eased conversion, was killed last week when dozens of Native Hawaiians and others testified against the measure.

The Hale Coalition, a 4,000-member group that has led legislative actions for leasehold reform at the state and city level, announced Monday that it had recommitted itself to galvanizing support for the ordinance after the defeat of Bill 53.

"This is about saving people's homes," said acting president Jane Sugimura. "This is too important an issue to allow the City Council to continue making emotional decisions."

Yesterday, Kupaa, a task force organized to defeat Bill 53, handed a petition to DeSoto signed by 3,700 people opposed to mandatory leasehold conversion.

Hoku Pacada, 20, who led the petition drive, said she got involved to protect the Queen Lili'uokalani Trust, which owns the land under the Foster Towers condominium. "The Queen has done a lot for us," she said. "It was sad. It was frustrating. She has helped us for a long time.

DeSoto, a longtime opponent of condo leasehold conversion, said he hoped his bill would survive past first introduction today, but if not, he would continue to fight for repeal.

"If it doesn't pass (today), I'll introduce it again in November. If it doesn't pass in November, I'll introduce it again in December," DeSoto said. "It's not going to go away that easy, because it's a wrong thing in the first place."

Also on today's agenda:

• A bill that would reinstate a $300 fee for Royal Hawaiian Band performances at cruise ship arrivals and departures. The fee has been waived since the Boat Days tradition was revived in 1999.
• A bill that will hold landowners liable for boulders on their property that might slide off cliffs or hillsides. Owners will be given 30 days written notice to remove the boulders or face fines as high as $1,000 per day for noncompliance.

In August, 26-year-old Dara Onishi was killed when a 5-ton boulder crashed through the wall of her Nu'uanu home, crushing her in her bed while she slept.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.