Posted on: Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Hokuli'a exemption viewed as unlikely

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

Developers of the 1,550-acre Hokuli'a subdivision in Kona likely will not be allowed an exemption from state land use laws from a key Senate committee, despite the urging of Big Island Mayor Harry Kim.

A bill that would, in effect, prevent future projects like Hokuli'a from being developed on agricultural land is expected to move out of the Senate Committee on Water, Land and Agriculture tomorrow.

But Committee Chairman Russell Kokubun said the bill will not include language Kim wants that would exempt Hokuli'a and other projects that have bypassed the state land use approval process.

Development of Hokuli'a was stalled by Kona Circuit Judge Ronald Ibarra when he ruled in 2003, and again in 2004, that its developers failed to gain state Land Use Commission approval for an urban project on agricultural lands. 1250 Oceanside Partners has appealed Ibarra's decision, arguing that it received necessary approvals from Hawai'i County. The developer had spent an estimated $300 million and had begun selling lots when the judge halted the project.

Last month, an attorney for nearly 100 buyers of the stalled Hokuli'a lots said they plan to sue Hawai'i County, seeking an estimated $200 million in damages. Kim said his motivation for seeking an exemption goes beyond the Hokuli'a situation.

"It's not my intention to do a legislative fix for Hokuli'a," Kokubun said. "And I understand the seriousness of the situation, but I think we need to look at it prospectively, not retroactively, in terms of reform for ag and rural land use designations."

Kokubun, D-2nd (Hilo, Puna, Ka'u), said his focus this year is on moving out bills that clarify land use laws so that agricultural lands are identified and protected from future development. The bill before the committee would make it clear that homes are not permitted on agricultural lands if "non-agricultural features" exist such as golf courses, country clubs, hotels, homes not compatible with agricultural activities and covenants that restrict agricultural uses.

Kim told committee members yesterday that he supports the basic concept of the bill. "It is ... our desire to ensure that future developments that would take away from our agricultural lands for golf courses, lots situated along golf courses, or country club-like facilities will no longer be allowed in this state," Kim said.

But Hokuli'a aside, a number of subdivisions consisting of 1- and 2-acre lots on agricultural lands were approved over several decades until Ibarra made his first ruling in 2003.

Jim Medeiros Sr., of the group Protect Keopuka Ohana, which filed the suit that stopped Hokuli'a's development, said the judicial process was a fair one, and that an overturning of that decision through legislative action would be "an injustice."

Alan Murakami, attorney for the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, which represents Medeiros and other Hokuli'a opponents, called the proposed exemption "entirely inappropriate and probably unconstitutional." Murakami said the project is tailored for luxury home purchases and speculators, and serves to drive farmers and other neighbors out of the area.

A move in the House to clear Hokuli'a's developers from its legal quandary was quelled last month. Supporters and opponents of the development said the issue could still resurface this session.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.