"We signed the papers," said Lea Hong, Hawaiian Island program director for The Trust for Public Land, after the deal to acquire the 1,129-acre Pupukea-Paumalu property had been completed.

"As of today the city of Honolulu is the title owner of that 25 acres of the property along Kamehameha Highway. TPL, as of today, is the title owner of the remaining 1,104 acres of the property."

Hong said TPL will hold that remaining land until it can be transferred over to the state in the coming weeks. The important thing is that the entire Pupukea-Paumalu property will be protected from private or commercial development for all time, she said.

The scenic property includes the well-known cliffs overlooking Sunset Beach and Pipeline that have been the background setting for countless surfing photos. Since as far back as the 1980s, members of the community had been working to ensure the land would not be developed.

But casual concern turned to urgency in 2002 when Obayashi, the Japanese construction company that had owned the land since 1974, put the parcel on the open market for $12 million and word spread that the property was being considered for a 500-home project.

An all-volunteer coalition of citizens and business leaders was formed to find funding for the purchase of the property and to place it in reserved public lands. That group, The North Shore Community Last Trust, gained widespread community support. The coalition eventually included backing by the state, the city and county, the military and federal agencies.

That support took on international proportions when people from around the world joined the outcry to keep the famed North Shore backdrop from becoming another cliff-side gated community. At one point entertainer Jack Johnson even flew to Japan to appeal to the Obayashi company on behalf of the preservationists.

Blake McElhany, Community Land Trust chairman, yesterday praised residents, businesses and government officials for raising the nearly $8 million necessary to buy the land. He also thanked Obayashi for being sympathetic to the concerns of the community coming down on its original asking price.