The Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board has rebuffed a second attempt in four years by a developer to win community support for rezoning three acres of preservation-zoned land for housing in Kalama Valley.

The project by developer Philip Ho proposed 11 house lots for the site across from the Queen's Gate residential subdivision as an expansion of the 70-home Koko Villas subdivision Ho completed in 2005.

But after strong opposition was expressed at a neighborhood board zoning committee meeting Monday, the developer canceled a presentation scheduled for the full board Tuesday, and is no longer seeking the board's support for rezoning.

Robert Lazo, an architect representing Ho's project, said the development proposal is being terminated.

"He heard the response of the neighbors and he didn't want to go forward with his proposal," Lazo said.

Lazo said he expects Ho may sit down with community members to figure out what do to with the site, which fronts Kealahou Street and is filled with wild vegetation that has attracted illegal dumping.

Ho could not be reached for comment.

Community members at Tuesday's meeting applauded the withdrawal, but Robert Clark, a longtime Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board member, suspects the plan will resurface at some point.

"We're looking at a developer who's got a pretty determined situation here," Clark said at Tuesday's meeting. "He'll wait. These developers keep coming back."

Clark was on the neighborhood board four years ago when Ho, then through consultant Don Clegg, received unanimous opposition to the 11-home project on 3.2 acres.

Neighborhood board support is important to the project, because it would be weighed by the City Council in determining whether to approve a zoning change for the site.

Ho initially floated plans to build about 20 homes on the parcel about eight years ago, and attracted some community support because of the project's relatively small size and high demand for homes. Later, he reduced the density but ran into opposition because the land wasn't zoned for housing.

Ho, through California-based Konakoh Inc., bought about 30 acres in the area from Kamehameha Schools for $2.5 million in 1999, according to property records.

The land, below the Koko Crater Equestrian Center and the city Botanical Garden inside Koko Crater, was partly zoned for homes and partly for preservation as remnant parcels left over from developing the adjacent Hawai'i Kai Golf Course once referred to as Queen's Beach golf course.

Through Kona Villas LLC, Ho developed 70 homes on the 15 acres of residential-zoned land. The homes initially sold for $600,000 to $1.3 million.

Besides the 3.2-acre parcel in front of Koko Villas, there are roughly 12 acres behind Koko Villas zoned for preservation. Lazo said there are no plans to develop that property.