Land finally released
to allow Waimea Valley
to become city park

The current managers will keep
the park open while the city
looks for a caretaker

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By Treena Shapiro
tshapiro@starbulletin.com

Waimea Valley became a city park yesterday, ending a 15-month saga since the property was put on sale in November 2000.

Former owner, New York developer Christian Wolfer, originally asked $25 million for the 1,875-acre parcel, dropped the price to $19 million and later declared bankruptcy. The Waimea Falls Park attraction sits on part of the property.

Last year, the City Council put $5.1 million into escrow to condemn the land, and the bankruptcy court in New York released the property for condemnation yesterday, according to the city Deputy Managing Director Malcolm Tom.

Waimea Falls Park's current managers will continue to operate the park on a month-to-month basis while the city looks for a long-term caretaker, Tom said. That way, there will be no layoffs or park closures during the transition.

"The park will continue to operate as is," he said.

The city is soliciting management proposals to determine the best way to preserve the park, Tom said. "The vision is very clear -- to maintain and preserve and enhance the cultural, botanical and other resources," he said.

While there could be further development in the park, such as providing more public access to the botanical gardens, Tom said development did not mean man-made attractions that would detract from the natural beauty of the area.

The Stewards of Waimea Valley, a group formed to protect the rare and endangered plant collection in the valley, hopes the new plans for the valley will mirror the community's vision, according to Scott Foster, director of communications.

The group had contested plans by the previous owner to expand its adventure park philosophy, particularly a high-speed cable ride that would carry people through the park.

"In the community vision it was near unanimous consensus that the future of the valley needed to be definitely Hawaiian historical and cultural preservation and education, as well as the botanical garden receiving the attention that it so richly deserves," Foster said.