"The department is always open to discuss uses of our property and ways to benefit Native Hawaiians, but at this time we have no plans for that property," said DHHL spokesman Lloyd Yonenaka.

The property is behind Stevenson Middle and Lincoln Elementary schools and stretches from Prospect to 'Auwaiolimu streets.

There are three Hawaiian homesteads in the immediate area — Papakolea, Kalawahine and Kewalo — and residents want to make sure that the property is used for housing and not given up for other uses.

"We want the leadership from DHHL to pursue something for the beneficiaries and not move into a land swap for a passive park and hiking trails," said Richard Soo, a Kalawahine resident and member of the neighborhood board for the Makiki area. "The beneficiaries had no knowledge of what is being quoted in this community plan."

The community plan is paid for with a $50,000 city vision team appropriation and was presented to the Makiki/Lower Punchbowl/Tantalus Neighborhood Board at its meeting last month. The plan looks into many aspects of living in Makiki, including park space, parking, business support and appropriate development.

John Whalen, of project consultant Plan Pacific, said the idea was simply a proposal made after talking to planners at DHHL who seemed receptive to the idea. Whalen said the land was being considered for elderly housing but it is steep and would be difficult to build on.

"The idea was to make a use of the land; it could be through a land swap for something more usable for homesteads," Whalen said. "We are looking at the long range and the details of how that would work would have to be decided later. The city at this point doesn't have any specific land they would swap."

Whalen said Makiki is densely populated with few properties available to create more open space and this land was seen as fitting in with the other recreational uses for the adjacent city park and schools.

"A lot of steps would have to be taken before any of this is executed," he said. "It is not going to proceed until the city and DHHL, one approaches the other and they decide to act on it or not."

Whalen said the community plan, which has been a couple of years in development, does not have any "binding effect of law," and will likely be accepted as a committee report to the City Council at some point.

Yonenaka said the property is land-banked and when any plans are made, the residents will be fully involved in the process.