Efforts to mitigate the effects of a wildfire that burned about 7,000 acres of agriculture and conservation land in August have had mixed success so far.

City officials, residents and farmers sought tax relief and erosion prevention measures that would aid farmers and protect the environment.

A request to the Natural Resources Conservation Service to fund erosion-control measures was denied and a bill to grant property tax relief to farmers awaits a City Council decision.

City Council Resolution 311, which urges the state to provide tax relief to farmers who suffered losses because of the fire, was adopted by the council last month but the request is only that. The state Legislature must still act on that request when it convenes next year.

Jacob Ng, who had pushed for erosion measures and had to evacuate his Waialua home during the fire, said he was very disappointed with the NRCS decision.

Ng said even though the grass has regrown over much of the burned area, steep gulches are still a problem and he had wanted government to replace the existing guinea grass with something that didn't provide fuel for fire.

"It's nice and green right now but next summer it will be brown, then here we go again with another Waialua fire," he said. "I personally was disappointed with NRCS because they could have made recommendation to reseed with fire-resistant grass. I don't see why they didn't do that."

But replacing the grass is not covered under the NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection Program, to which the city had applied for help, said Chad Kacir, district conservationist. The city request was ineligible mostly because the grass had grown back, Kacir said, adding that there is value to replacing the grass with something less combustible.

"It's not that we wouldn't like to (replace the guinea grass)," he said. "It's that the program is not designed to do that."

There are other programs that can help replace the grass, including the Environmental Quality Incentive Program and Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program that private landowners can apply to, Kacir said.

The city Bill 77 to grant property tax relief to farmers has passed its second reading and was sent last month to the City Council Budget Committee, headed by Councilmember Todd Apo, 1st ('Ewa/Kapolei/Wai'anae /Makua).

Language details had to be worked out, including making sure the farmers who suffered losses receive the benefit, said Apo, who also is concerned about setting a precedent about granting relief when the state should be doing it. Apo said his goal is to consider the measure at the next committee meeting in January.

"If we can get these issues worked out and the right language in there, we'll definitely take a look at it," he said. "We don't want to make a wrong move and rush something through."

Councilmember Donovan Dela Cruz, who introduced the bill, said the language issues proposed by the city administration were incorporated into the bill last month so he's not sure why the measure wasn't heard this month.

"This bill will cost the city less than $100,000, and that's if everybody applies," said Dela Cruz, 2nd (Wahiawa, North Shore, 'Ahuimanu). "That's only peanuts but that could make or break a farmer. That could be new equipment."

The city resolution asking the Legislature to grant some tax relief must be made into a bill and go through the process once the lawmakers convene in January.

State Sen. Robert Bunda, D-22nd (North Shore, Wahiawa), said research must still be done before the bill is written but he will discuss the issue with state Rep. Michael Magaoay, D-46th (Kahuku, North Shore, Schofield), before moving forward.

"We haven't really put it into a bill yet," Bunda said. "I've been talking to some of the researchers in the Senate."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.