HILO, Hawai'i — The Hawai'i County Council yesterday tentatively approved a plan to have the county try to buy and preserve 150 acres of coastal land in Ka'u that includes property where a developer wants to build a major new hotel and commercial project.

The resolution, approved 8-0 by the council's Finance Committee, would instruct Big Island Mayor Harry Kim's administration to enter into negotiations to buy Punalu'u Beach Park and adjacent coastal property within 2,000 feet of the shoreline. The county now leases the beach park land from a private owner.

That proposed purchase would include all of the areas zoned for hotel development or planned for commercial development under a controversial $850 million project proposed by the partnership Sea Mountain Five LLC.

Sea Mountain Five initially wanted to build 1,500 single-family homes and condominiums and another 300 hotel rooms on the 434 acres in rural Ka'u, with the project to be completed in 2015.

Since then, the developer has scaled down the total number of units slightly. George Atta, consultant to the developer, said the new proposal would have 1,050 single family homes and condominiums, and 350 hotel rooms.

The land is already zoned for the development, but Sea Mountain still needs to complete an environmental impact statement and obtain a Special Management Area permit from the county before it can proceed with the project.

Kim told the council yesterday he does not support either the original version or the revised development proposal, but he asked the council to delay the vote on the proposed land purchase to give supporters and opponents of the development time to meet and try to work out a compromise.

Kim said there is no reason to rush passage of the resolution because the county doesn't have money set aside to buy the Punalu'u land anyway.

But Ka'u Councilman Bob Jacobson said he has been trying to identify federal money that might be available to buy the coastal area, and said a delay would be a setback to those efforts. "I think the problem is delay, delay, delay is basically going to tie my hands," he said.

The resolution now goes to the full council for further consideration, but yesterday's lopsided vote in favor of the plan suggests it is likely to pass.

The Sea Mountain proposal has been opposed by critics who say it would destroy what they call "Hawai'i's last great open space." Ka'u has less than 10,000 people in an area 50 percent larger than the entire island of O'ahu, and residents worry the new development could change their rural lifestyles for the worse.

Supporters of the project say it would provide badly needed jobs in an area that has been struggling economically since the last Big Island plantations closed in the 1990s. Many residents have moved out of Ka'u to seek work, while others drive hours each day to jobs in the employment hubs of Kona and Kohala.

The project is expected to create more than 500 permanent jobs. However, with lots projected to be priced from $264,000 to $770,000, the project would also introduce large numbers of wealthy new residents into the area.

Na'alehu resident Shannon Herrington, 30, described the project as "Beverly Hills brought to Ka'u," and urged the council to move ahead with the purchase and protect the shoreline.

"Ka'u is a great blessing that does not need to be changed," he said.

Kai McGuire, 19, said supporters of the project are focusing on the jobs it would provide, but he argued the land could be better used for farming and other types of food production to increase Hawai'i's self sufficiency.

"Personally I'm insulted by people saying we need a hotel. I don't want to change sheets," he said.

Ka'u resident Marge Elwell urged the council to delay its vote to give the community an opportunity to seek compromise.

"It just really hurts me to see the division that's gone on in the last six months," she said.

Atta, the Sea Mountain consultant, told the council he believes the resolution is "premature." If the council wants to stop the project from moving forward, it can use its power to change the zoning and buy the property, he said.

However, if the council is making a de-facto land use decision by buying part of the property without using the established land use approval process, "then I would say that that is improper," Atta said.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.