Mayor Jeremy Harris will allow the lease-to-fee conversion of land beneath three condominium projects to proceed without his signature. Lease-to-fee bill
to pass without
Harris’ signatureBy Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.com
The announcement was a disappointment to opponents who lobbied the mayor to reject the three resolutions covering the Kahala Beach, Admiral Thomas and Camelot condominiums.
"The Council should not have passed this and the mayor should have vetoed it," said Phyllis Zerbe, spokeswoman for Small Landowners Association.
"The understanding that Mayor Harris will use the politician's 'cop out' by not signing these resolutions, thereby causing them to become law without his signature, was anticipated," said Leroy Akamine, spokesman for The Stop Leasehold Condo Conversions Coalition.
Zerbe and Akamine were among about a dozen opponents carrying signs and banners who waited outside the mayor's office Monday, hoping to meet with him and urge him to veto the measures before today's deadline. They left without seeing him. A city spokesman said the mayor wasn't in the office.
Those opposed to the resolutions include landowners Kamehameha Schools (Kahala Beach), First United Methodist Church (Admiral Thomas) and the Kekuku Family Estate and Sisters of Sacred Hearts (Camelot). They say the loss of the fee interest in the property means a loss of revenue for educational and charity work they provide.
But supporters of leasehold conversion said the law allows them to negotiate a fair price for the land, which they are not able to do now.
City attorneys advised the mayor that the city must proceed with condemnation of the property so that eligible leasehold condominium owner-occupants will be able buy the land under their homes.
"Under the current law, the city is required to move forward with the filing of the lease-to-fee condemnation once the applicants and the project have been determined to meet the criteria," according to Corporation Counsel David Arakawa.
Arakawa and attorney Lex Smith, the private attorney appointed as a special deputy corporation counsel, based their advice on the current law and a state Supreme Court ruling earlier this year. The high court's decision upheld the 1991 leasehold conversion act but also said that more eligible owner-occupants in a condo project had to petition for the condemnation before the city could process the application.
"The mayor has been ill-advised by the corporation counsel," Zerbe said.
Earlier this month, hundreds attended a City Council meeting that took up the measures. The Council narrowly approved the resolutions by a 5-4 vote.
City & County of Honolulu
