Posted on: Wednesday, March 26, 2003

EDITORIAL
State should not trump city condo law

There's no question the City Council has struggled with the implementation and impact of a lease-to-fee conversion law for condominiums.

But that still should not justify a move at the Legislature to revoke Honolulu's right to use condemnation power to force lease-to-fee conversions. A measure now under consideration in the House would do just that.

This is, and should remain, a policy decision for the City Council to make.

And granted, it is a tough policy decision. Supporters of the law say it would create social stability and give leasehold apartment owners a chance to own their home in perpetuity. Opponents say it is fundamentally wrong to use government authority to force the transfer of an asset from one party to another, no matter what the compensation. They also say concentration of ownership is not nearly as severe in condominiums as it was in the case of single-family homes.

Still, Honolulu's current law (modeled, in fact, on a state law authorizing lease-to-fee-conversion of fee-simple properties) has passed legal muster all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

If it is to be repealed, that decision should rest with the city, not the state.