Four bills to acquire land to preserve open space at Turtle Bay, Hawai'i Kai, Wahiawa and on Kaua'i advanced at the state Legislature yesterday.

The properties, totaling 3,215 acres and reportedly worth in excess of $400 million, include pristine O'ahu shorelines, agricultural lands and hotel resorts. Two of the shoreline sites at Turtle Bay and the Ka Iwi Coast are embroiled in controversy as residents try to stop development there.

The properties are 880 acres at Turtle Bay and Kawela Bay in Kahuku, 2,100 acres of agriculture land in Wahiawa owned by the George Galbraith Estate, 181 acres on the Ka Iwi Coast and 54 acres at Coco Palms hotel on Kaua'i. The Galbraith Estate and Coco Palms are for sale.

Gov. Linda Lingle surprised many people when she suggested in her Jan. 22 State of the State address that the state acquire Turtle Bay Resort, turn the hotel operation over to a private entity and preserve the remaining vacant land.

A hearing Saturday in the Senate Water and Land Committee on the four bills attracted dozens of people, all of whom favored the measures. Yesterday the committee, headed by Sen. Clayton Hee, approved the measures that will now go to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Turtle Bay Resort owner Kuilima Resort Co. in a written statement said it opposes any bill that would allow the state to use eminent domain to acquire the land. Nicola Jones, Kuilima Resort's chief executive officer, said in the statement that the company has more than $400 million in loans on the property and 700 employees that must be considered in any sale.

The Ka Iwi Coast developer has said his property was worth $20 million, but Elizabeth Reilly, with Livable Hawaii Kai Hui, said the two properties under consideration are assessed by the city for property tax purposes at under $4 million. The state would not have to cover the entire cost because the community would pitch in, Reilly said.

"The community is interested in doing our part as far as raising funds and working with the necessary agency," she said, adding that if the community is involved it will seek an endowment to take care of the land so government wouldn't have to.

The Wahiawa land was estimated to be worth $30 million to $50 million.

Lea Hong, with The Trust for Public Land, said the Army may be willing to partner with the state or a group to help purchase the land to create a buffer zone between the military use and urban use.

"Spending a little bit of money on buffering projects and preventing development from getting too close to their training area would save a lot of money because moving a training area would cost hundreds of millions of dollars," said Hong, Hawaiian Islands program director for the trust.

The Army was a partner in the Pupukea-Paumalu acquisition, in which 1,129 acres of coastal bluff on the North Shore was placed in permanent protection.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.