Bob Ramsey carries a tray of Hawaiian Chili Pepper plants he's purchasing to the checkout stand at RNS Nii Nursery in Kamilonui Valley. The area, which has many nurseries and farms, faces the possibility of future residential development.
Farmers will sell
if price is rightThe Kamilonui Valley tenants
consider lucrative offers from
a land developer
For years, Shigeki Nii fought alongside his farming neighbors to preserve Kamilonui Valley as an agricultural oasis amid east Oahu's growing population of condominiums and planned developments.
Nii's nursery has been on Kamilonui Place for more than 40 years.
He does well, and his sons have already pledged to continue the family business. But on a recent overcast day, sitting in a golf cart loaded down with potted plants, Nii said that if a developer were to offer him a fair buyout, he'd take it right away.
Nii's turnabout is no exception.
All but three of the 13 farmers who lease land in the valley said they're seriously considering preliminary offers made recently by Stanford Carr Development.
Even the head of the valley's farming cooperative, who for more than a decade has been a staunch and vocal opponent of developing the area, said she's ready to give up and sell out.
Negotiations between the company and farmers are ongoing, and the plan is not without its hurdles.
All of the valley's tenants would have to agree to sell their leases to Stanford Carr before the developer could move on to buying the land from Kamehameha Schools, according to the landowner's spokesman.
And the Honolulu City Council would have to approve a zoning change for the valley, which is likely to be met with protests from opponents of more planned neighborhoods popping up in Hawaii Kai.
Officials with Stanford Carr, whose residences at the Peninsula project in Hawaii Kai have gone for more than $900,000, announced hopes earlier this year to build 200 homes in the valley's 83 acres. A spokesman for the development firm did not return phone calls seeking comment.
The farmers moved into the valley in the late 1960s. Their 55-year leases with landowner Kamehameha Schools run out in 2025, and require that some sort of agricultural work be done on the land.
Lillie Wong, president of the valley's farming cooperative and an original Kamilonui farm lots tenant, spoke out against developments getting too close to the valley as early as the late 1990s, but failed to get a considerable buffer zone between any new homes and the farm lots.
Now, developments nearly butt up against some properties and their residents complain about smelling fertilizer or pesticides, Wong said. She added that the cooperative recently took out a $1 million liability insurance policy to guard against lawsuits by homeowners who could sue, alleging their health was affected by farming chemicals.
"The farmers lost the fight," Wong said. "We have no recourse now."
Also, Wong added, most of the farmers are in their 70s or older and their children aren't interested in pursuing their parents' profession.
"The farmers are in a real predicament and dilemma," said the cooperative's attorney, Jim Stone. "They just feel that the timing is such that it's best that they look for a home and an opportunity that they can retire in."
But he stressed that there have been no formal deals made with Stanford Carr, and that each farmer is negotiating individually with the developer.
Katsumi Higa, the cooperative's secretary and treasurer, grows red beets and sweet corn on 6.9 acres of land in the valley.
Working in his garage Saturday afternoon, Higa's calves and feet were speckled with dirt from a morning in the field. He's been a farmer in east Oahu much of his life, and says he has seen Hawaii Kai transform from a mostly rural to a mostly urban community.
"This is the choice valley right now," he said. "If they (Stanford Carr) offer me something that I can afford to retire, I'll accept that."
The 81-year-old Nii agreed, saying that his sons could set up shop elsewhere. "We were against any development for a long time," Nii said. "But I think it's sooner or later that we will have to go."
Some of the valley's farmers aren't as willing to leave.
Edwin Lau, Kamilonui's newest farmer, moved into the valley three years ago and has put in 300 mango, lychee and citrus trees. A few months ago, Lau said, Stanford Carr Development offered him an $800,000 home in exchange for his lease.
Lau turned it down.
"Where else are you going to find a place like that (the valley)?" he asked. "It's a dream place."
Down the street from Lau, Thomas Yamabe has a variety of crops. A couple of years ago, he became one of only a few farmers in the state to grow vanilla.
Yamabe, also one of the valley's original tenants, said keeping the valley zoned for agricultural use is part of Hawaii Kai's development plan and vital to a healthy community.
"The agricultural area was not land that was set aside simply because they had no use for it," Yamabe said by phone from the mainland, where he is on vacation. "In the case of Hawaii Kai ... they did want to keep in agriculture as part of a total community development."
Dean Takebayashi, owner of Chrysanthemums of Hawaii, has been in the valley since 1999 and said he would prefer to keep his nursery in Kamilonui.
"But it is a business for me," he said, "so if the right offer came I obviously would have to take a look at it. If it makes sense to sell, we'll do so."
Kamehameha Schools isn't taking either side on the issue.
"We're supportive of the farmers staying in agricultural if they want to do that," said spokesman Kekoa Paulsen. "If the farmers decided that they wanted to take Mr. Carr up on his offer, we'd be supportive of that as well."
Paulsen said that if the valley's tenants allow Stanford Carr to buy their leasehold interests, Kamehameha Schools would then likely sell its 87 acres of farmland in the valley to the developer rather than continue to hold on to the property.
But there are dozens of people poised to stand against Stanford Carr if the company pursues its Kamilonui Valley proposal, according to Elizabeth Reilly, a founding member of the Livable Hawaii Kai Hui.
The hui was formed about two months ago in response to a spate of growing pains in east Oahu, ranging from traffic jams to sewer capacity.
Reilly, who wants to keep Kamilonui Valley as it is, said her group is looking for support from lawmakers in opposing conversion of the valley to residential use and even hopes to recruit young farmers who would be interested in taking over businesses from the valley's aging growers.
"It's not that we're so against development," Reilly said. "We're proactive and for protecting the urban boundary."
