CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Peter Jensen, whose family owns some of the land at the Camelot condominiums, held up a rock during a protest march and rally before yesterday's vote by the City Council.
City Council approves After a day of sometimes passionate testimony, the City Council narrowly approved mandatory lease-to-fee conversion measures covering three condominium projects.
leasehold conversion
for 3 condominiums
The land is owned by Kamehameha
Schools, a family and 2 religious groupsBy Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.comThe Council voted 5-4 yesterday to use its condemnation powers so that qualified leasehold condominium owners at the Kahala Beach, Admiral Thomas and Camelot can buy the land under their homes.
The standing-room-only crowd flowed into the hallway, many carrying signs such as "No condemnation. Keep the Land." Hawaiian protest chants and song outside the room echoed through Honolulu Hale, at times competing with the testimony going on inside.
Most of the testimony was against the city using its eminent-domain powers in these cases.
Opponents, many of whom wore black T-shirts saying, "Our land, Our legacy," included the condominium landowners: Kamehameha Schools, which owns the fee under Kahala Beach; First United Methodist Church, which owns the land beneath the Admiral Thomas on Victoria Street; and the Kekuku family estate, co-owner along with the Sisters of Sacred Hearts of land beneath the Camelot in Makiki.
The landowners argued that the income they receive from the land provides a greater public good and use than selling the fee to the leasehold condominium owners. They cited the educational work Kamehameha Schools does and the charity work -- food bank and preschool -- done by the First United Methodist Church, which sits on the same land as the Admiral Thomas.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
A standing-room-only crowd filled the City Council chamber yesterday. Hawaiian protest chants and songs outside the room echoed through Honolulu Hale.
Rebecca Soon, Kamehameha student body president, said Kamehameha's reach goes far beyond the Hawaiian community to everyone in Hawaii. "The institution's sole purpose is for the public good," said Soon, who was among about 100 students who attended the meeting.
"What is fair? What is just? What is right? Let us act upon that," said the Rev. Barbara Grace Ripple, Hawaii district superintendent of the United Methodist Church.
Gov. Linda Lingle also joined in the debate. Attorney Randy Roth, Lingle's policy adviser, read a statement from the governor that said, "I am extremely concerned about the impact mandatory lease-to-fee conversion could have on small landowners, charitable trusts and Hawaii's already anti-business reputation."
She urged the Council to "examine this issue in more detail before any further action is taken that could result in irreparable consequences for the public at large."
Leasehold condominium owners, however, said the current law would help them negotiate a fair market price for the land -- which they are not able to do now.
Martin Anderson, attorney for Kahala Beach lessees, said the condominium owners have qualified under the law. "For nine of the 11 years this law has been on the books, Kahala Beach people have tried to follow the process for obtaining the title to their homes. So this isn't really about land," Anderson said. "Send these lessees home today to a home that they will truly own."
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Over vocal protests, the City Council narrowly approved mandatory lease-to-fee conversion measures yesterday that cover three condominium projects. Before the meeting, students marched across King Street toward City Hall to protest.
At the center of the controversy is an ordinance passed in 1991 to help leasehold owner-occupants gain title to the land under their units. The ordinance says qualifying lessees can petition to have condemnation begin when a landowner either refuses to sell the fee interest or no purchase price can be negotiated. The city would condemn the land and turn over the fee interests to the eligible unit owners.
"This is not an anti-landowner proceeding, although I understand why they would think that," Councilman Jon Yoshimura said. "For me, this is a pro-homeowner proceeding."
Besides Yoshimura, three other outgoing councilmen voted in favor of the measures. The others were Duke Bainum, John Henry Felix and Steve Holmes. The fifth vote came from Gary Okino, who will become the Council chairman on Jan. 2 when six new Council members come on board.
Voting against the measures were Ann Kobayashi, Darrlyn Bunda, Romy Cachola and John DeSoto.
Kobayashi tried unsuccessfully to delay taking action on the measures until February -- "because of the myriad of questions that have been raised," she said -- but that was rejected.
"I think the public ... both pro and con deserve more dialogue," said DeSoto.
Okino, seen as the swing vote, said it is time to revisit the law and proposed that a task force of leaseholders and landowners work out a compromise. But he said the current ordinance is legally sound.
"This lease-to-fee conversion has been fully litigated and challenged several times and has been held lawful and enforceable," Okino said.
The testimony got so testy at one point that Adelaide "Frenchy" DeSoto, mother of John DeSoto, said she was going home to pound ti leaves. "When you start to itch in certain areas, think of me."
Bainum took exception to comments like that and later said that opposing opinions should be respected "without having to put curses on us."
City & County of Honolulu
