Condo conversion moratorium sought

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

A lengthy dispute over the city's condominium leasehold conversion law may soon take another detour.

After months of heated hearings over a plan to repeal the controversial law, known as Chapter 38, a new proposal calls for halting conversions through a moratorium that stops short of repealing the law.

"It's a new idea that I think should be explored," said Councilman Romy Cachola, who introduced a moratorium bill that's scheduled for a preliminary vote tomorrow.

Banning new conversions would give the council more time to consider ways to change the law so it is more acceptable to people on both sides of the issue, he said.

"It's not just a trial balloon; I don't consider it that," Cachola said. "It's something to at least come up with new ideas to address the seemingly endless dispute between the parties."

Chapter 38, approved by the council in 1991, allows the city to force landowners to sell qualified condominium owners the fee interest in the land under their units.

The law is popular with many people who want full ownership of the condos they live in, but is staunchly opposed by some landowners, including Kamehameha Schools and other large charitable trusts that benefit Hawaiian children.

The moratorium proposed by Cachola would not apply to conversions that the affected land owners do not oppose, or to conversions approved by the council before the moratorium takes effect.

Cachola's Bill 71 also calls for creation of an advisory committee or task force to consider how to amend Chapter 38. Previous City Hall discussions about the law have triggered hours of impassioned testimony from all sides. A six-member task force representing landowners and lessees met for six months this year but reached no consensus.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.