Developer donates land to Kaua'i trust

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

KILAUEA, Kaua'i — Developer Louise Zweben has donated 5.43 acres of coastline at Kilauea's Rock Quarry, also known as Kahili Beach, to the Kaua'i Public Land Trust as a conservation area for public use.

The land trust said yesterday that the land at the mouth of the Kilauea River is valued at more than $4 million. The transaction took place just before the end of 2003.

The trust hopes to hold the property only until it can be conveyed to another suitable organization, perhaps the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, whose 140-acre Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge is nearby.

U.S. Reps. Neil Abercrombie and Ed Case, D-Hawai'i, have introduced legislation to expand the refuge with land in the immediate area, including the Zweben parcel.

Zweben, a six-year resident of Kaua'i and president of the Kaua'i and San Francisco land development firm Glen Noe LLC, said the existence of the land trust made it possible to preserve the property. The Kaua'i Public Land Trust is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to protect in perpetuity unique lands on the island.

Land trust President Gary Blaich said the trust is working with government agencies and the Kilauea Community Association to develop a management plan that will help preserve the recreational and environmental resources of the shoreline parcel.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.