Posted on: Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Eviction looms for Waiahole families

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

WAIAHOLE — About 150 people showed up at a community meeting here last night, with many saying they oppose a move to evict as many as 14 families from state-owned lots in Waiahole Valley and to transfer control of much of the land to the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

The families are facing eviction because they are not doing enough farming or have failed to build homes as required by the leases, the state said yesterday.

In addition, the state says it plans to transfer management of the area from the Housing and Community Development Corp. of Hawai'i to DHHL, which will receive all agriculture lots and the residential lots that are not under lease.

Last night, residents criticized the evictions and questioned the transfer to DHHL, saying they suspect a main reason is the potential for commercial development in the valley.

"It seems like you're dividing us," said Sas Lagapa, a member of the Waiahole-Waikane Community Association, which represents the tenants. "The more people you evict, the more land would go to Hawaiian Homes."

DHHL Director Micah Kane said his agency has no intention of developing the land and expects to keep it in agriculture. "We have to prove to you that we're a help, not a hindrance," he said. "DHHL will only succeed if we're welcomed here."

Kane also promised that Waiahole water would stay in the area, addressing concerns that water would be sent to support development in Leeward O'ahu.

But Hannah Salas, vice president of the community association, said, "We oppose this transfer because of the lack of respect for the community," adding that the state never came to the community to discuss the issue until the matter had been decided.

Waiahole and Waikane valleys, adjacent to each other, were the center of controversy in the 1970s, when the property owners attempted to evict long-time farmers to develop housing. Under then-Gov. George Ariyoshi, the state bought about 600 acres of land in the valleys in 1977 to create agricultural and residential subdivisions. Seventy-five-year lease agreements were executed in 1998.

Bradley Chong, an attorney for the community association, said a dozen residential lessees and two farm tenants received eviction notices and that they would have to leave by Monday.

However, officials with the Housing and Community Development Corp. said yesterday that seven of the evictions were rescinded Wednesday.

Legislators intervened on behalf of the seven, saying they had made most land improvements but had not yet built a home, said Stephanie Aveiro, HCDCH executive director, adding that the state is now negotiating with a self-help housing organization to build the homes.

Aveiro said that for too long, HCDCH has not paid close attention to the situation in Waiahole and when it did, it realized that some people had failed to build homes, install septic systems, pay leases or farm.

She said the change is part of an overall effort to follow rules and regulations and be more professional.

"We're doing this across the board," Aveiro said. "We're taking it one step at a time making sure we comply and they comply. Unfortunately, the timing is bad."

As far as transferring management, the agency is trying to get out of the management business and sees Hawaiian Home Lands as the best solution because it already manages leases, Aveiro said.

Another attorney for the community association, Todd Eddins, said the state has only delayed evictions for the seven households because the letter contained conditions that he called impossible to meet, such as obtaining a 100 percent bond on construction.

"It's a 30-day stay of execution with onerous terms of compliance," Eddins said.

The eviction notices caught the community association by surprise, said David Chinen, association president.

"People in the valley feel they're treating us like stepchildren," he said. "They can expect a long, hard fight if they choose to do things in this manner."

Finalizing the details of the land transfer to DHHL may take several months, said Lloyd Yonenaka, DHHL spokesman. The department wants to meet with the community and gather information before it moves forward with a plan, he said.

There is no plan to build homes now, but that might change in 10 to 15 years, he said, adding that the department has no money to develop the area now.

HCDCH would manage the existing residential leases, Yonenaka said. Any existing agriculture and commercial leases would be honored and when residential leases expire or become available the DHHL would get that property as well, he said.

DHHL will take over the water system but Yonenaka said the only plan now is to evaluate the system and leave it pretty much as it is.

"In the long run it's going to be good for everybody ... and anybody who says we got in this to kick people out, that's wrong," he said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com. or 234-5266.