Builder eyes Hawai'i Kai farms
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
A developer wants to build 200 homes on 87 acres of land off Lunalilo Home Road, a proposal that would end more than half a century of farming in the former swamp land that is Hawai'i Kai and bring large-scale construction to its last undeveloped valley.
Stanford Carr, the developer of the Peninsula, a 600-unit project under way on the edge of the marina, has approached area City Councilman Charles Djou, chairman of the council's zoning committee, with a plan to move Kamilonui Valley's 16 farmers to other communities to make way for his latest brainchild.
The proposal comes during a building boom the likes of which has not been seen in Hawai'i Kai since Henry Kaiser first saw the area's fish ponds and brackish water in the 1960s and envisioned a marina-based community. And it is generating concern about too much growth and its effect on traffic and sewer and water capacity.
"It's just wrong to keep building," said Murray Luther, a community activist and longtime resident of Hawai'i Kai. "Let's make sure we have the services available first, before we go building more. These guys (the developers) just are making their money and getting out.
"Just because it's virgin land doesn't mean we have to build on it."
Carr said the farmers approached him about three years ago about buying their leasehold interest, although apparently not all favor the idea.
"It's still kind of premature yet," Carr said. "We've done some site planning and plan to do something much more like a traditional design concept. We're trying to formalize agreements with the farmers."
He said he plans to study the capacity of the sewer, water and road systems before making a formal proposal for the 200 homes. The land is zoned for agriculture and would require a zoning change, subject to public hearings and City Council approval. Carr estimates he is two or three years away from building if he can get the necessary approvals.
"We're taking a different approach," he said. "We're assessing the infrastructure with studies to see what we can we do about mitigating them. We're doing the due diligence first, and then addressing the issues before we get started, because those are the things that concern the community."
Builders have been pounding away on roughly 800 new homes, townhomes and apartments in Hawai'i Kai in the past three years. With the median home price climbing above $400,000, it's a good time to build, developers say.
But with nearly all buildable land here in play, interest has turned to the quiet valley that has been home to farmers since industrialist Kaiser moved them there in the 1960s to make way for homes.
The growers of vegetables and potted plants belong to the Kamilonui Farmers Cooperative. Many are near retirement age, said Dean Takebayashi, owner of the nursery Chrysanthemums of Hawai'i in the valley. Several had signed the first lease with landowner Kamehameha Schools. Rents are up for renegotiation in about six years.
"I have to hear a bit more about what the developer is offering," Takebayashi said. "I'd prefer to stay here and continue doing what we're doing. I enjoy farming."
One issue of concern for some residents is the soil, which is unstable and tends to allow flooding in heavy rains, said farmer Gary Weller. In new homes being built now by Schuler near his farm, property owners had to sign a disclosure statement saying they were aware of the soil conditions and acknowledging farming operations nearby.
Life of the Land, an environmental and community action group, has been trying to keep land designated agricultural in the hands of farmers rather than developers.
Rather than turning farmland into residential land, city policy-makers should look at ways to rebuild in urban areas and preserve farmlands to support agricultural self-sufficiency, said Henry Curtis, the group's executive director.
"I would hate to see Hawai'i become wall-to-wall houses," he said. "Agriculture land provides an open-space characteristic, and it provides a connection to the land for people who don't farm themselves."
Djou said he's skeptical about additional development in Hawai'i Kai, and the community could use a break from the sound of hammers and drills. Developer Carr told Djou he wanted to hear the community's concerns and would attempt to address them.
"I realize there's a market here; people are certainly willing to buy," Djou said. "I just don't know how far the developer will get.
"Clearly, the community has changed from the way it was 50 years ago," he added. "But those farms provide a natural watershed from the heavy rains, so they don't run off into the marina. If you put homes there, where will the water go?"
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.
