Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 1, 1 January 2006 — PEOPLE POWER CARRIES THE DAY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PEOPLE POWER CARRIES THE DAY

lmpassioned public testimony persuades the Honolulu City Council to scrap a court settlement that would have divided Waimea Valley

By Derek Ferrar Public lnformation Specialist One by one, the more than 70 citizens filed up to the podium to make their impassioned pleas to the Honolulu City Council not to approve a proposed court settlement that would have split up the North Shore's sacred and spectacular Waimea Valley and returned most of it to its former owner, New York speculator Christian Wolffer. "Don't settle, don't settle, don't settle," implored North Shore Outdoor Circle President Nancy John. "Don't sell us out. This is what the people want." Others spoke of the valley's unique value as the last intact ahupua'a remaining on O'ahu, of its history as a Hawaiian religious center and its multitude of sacred sites, and of its threatened native species and word-class botanieal repository. The speakers represented a diversity of residents - Hawaiians and non-natives, environmentalists and businesspeople

- all of whom beseeched the eouneil not to settle. The eouneil members, apparently, were listening. In what The Honolulu Advertiser described as "a stunning example of people power," they reversed their 5-4 preliminary vote in favor of the settlement to vote unanimously against it. Several of the members who changed their vote said they were swayed by the testimony of several "white knights" - including a trio of OHA trustees, state Reps. Brian Schatz and Miehael Magoay, and Nahonal Audubon Society President John Flicker - who stepped forward with offers to help the city pay for the land if need be. "I have long been concerned over the finances of making this work," said Councilman Charles Djou, who had earlier been an advocate of accepting the settlement. "We have long been looking for a white knight, and I think we have found it." Audubon's Flicker told the

eouneil that his nationwide nonprofit would work to build a public and private partnership to provide funding for the city's purchase of the property if a court sets the condemnation price higher than the $5.1 million the city has set aside in escrow. OHA Trustees Rowena Akana, Dante Carpenter and John Waihe'e IV testified that, although OHA's board had not had time to take an official vote on the matter, they had informally agreed that they were willing to commit funds to assist with the condemnation if necessary. "OHA is very serious about acquiring this property, either by ourselves or with other people," Akana said. "Mostly, we want partnerships." Waihe'e pointed out that the OHA board had onee approved $6 million to purchase the valley - an offer that was rejected by Wolffer. An independent appraisal conmiissioned by OHA around the time of the condemnation valued the property at between $5.3 million and $6.5 million.

Throughout the testimony, Councilman Romy Cachola kept asking for specific dollar commitments so that the city would not be left "holding the bag." But Flicker and the others said that without knowing the final condemnation price, that would be impossible to do - that's why it's so important to let the case go to trial so a jury ean decide the fair price. The suit As owner of Waimea between 1996 and 2002, Wolffer molded the valley into a pricey "adventure park" catering to busloads of tourists, then tried to sell it off as a private estate. After Wolffer failed to sell the valley at asking prices of frrst $25 million and then $19 million, he placed the property into bankruptcy in 2001, and the city moved to acquire it by eondemnation. As compensation, the city placed in escrow $5.1 million - the most recent tax assessment value at the time of the condemnation, whieh is the amount the city is required to use in eondemnation proceedings. Wolffer soon filed suit, claiming that the property was worth as mueh as $19 million. While the suit crawled through the courts, in 2003 the city awarded a management contract to the National Audubon Society, whieh has won community praise for its stewardship of the valley as an environmental and cultural learning center. But due to the See WAIIWA on pags 15

Waimea's worth By Iūw, the condemnation price for the valley must be set according to values at the time of condemnation, so the dramatic rise in real estate prices since 2001 should not factor into the purchase amount set by a court. However, different parties involved in the dispute claīmed widely divergent values for the valley at the time of condemnation: • $5.1 million: The condemnation price set aside by the city, based on tax assessment values. • $5.3 ■ $6.5 million: The price range identified by an independent appraisal commissioned by OHA in 2001. • $18.2 Million: the value claimed I by an appraiser hired by Wolffer ū yeor ūfter the condemnotion. (Critics however, hove soid that price is inflated, considering the fūct that the conservation-zoned land is unlikely ever to be approved for substantial development.) $20 million or more: The amount that Wolffer's attorney has suggested the valley could be worth if such factors as existing structures and rare plant life were added to the price of the land itself. One person who testifīed ūt the eouneil hearing said that this elaīm seemed particularly ironic in light of the fact that, under Wolffer's ownership, the valley's important botanical center for rare tropical plants nearly shut down for laek of financial support. Pri<eless: The value of the valley to its supporters, who passionately point out that its historical and natural worth could never be replaced ūt any cost.

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Nālani Kahō'ano Gersabo, president of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs' 0'ahu Council, addresses a rally of opponents to the proposed Waimea court settlement. - Photos: Above: Derek Pem; top right: courtesy ofStewards of Waimea Valley

Waimea

Cūntinued fram page 09 unresolved suit, Audubon has been forced to operate on a month-to-month lease, whieh it says has greatly hindered efforts to raise funds or make long-term improvements in the valley. Finally, a trial date in the case was set for this coming Feb. 13, at whieh a jury would decide what the fair condemnation price should be and whether Wolffer is entitled to any damages. But Mayor Mufi Hannemann is worried that if the city loses at trial, the final price could be more than the city could afford, and in a worst-case scenario, the escrow money could be forfeited and the entire valley returned to Wolffer. "I think there is too mueh at risk for the city and all parties to let the courts decide," Hannemann said at a news conference. "What if the cost is just so astronomical we can't afford it?"

So Hannemann and city lawyers negotiated a secret settlement package with Wolffer, and - in a move that caught observers by surprise - the mayor presented the deal to the eouneil in November for approval. Soon afterward, the eouneil gave preliminary approval to the deal by a narrow 5-4 vote, but then unanimously rejected it at the puhlie hearing on Dec. 7. The deal While the specifics of the proposed deal remain a secret, in general it would have divided the valley's 1,875 acres into two parcels. Three hundred acres at the front of the valley - essentially the area now used by the Audubon nature center - would have been kept by the city in exchange for the $5.1 million it has already set aside. The remaining 1,575 acres would have been returned to Wolffer, who would have had the option of possibly building an eco-tourism site in the back of the valley, as well as dividing his portion into as many

as eight parcels, on eaeh of whieh he could seek to build a residence. Critics of the plan pointed out that since nearly the entire valley is designated as conservation land, Wolffer would have had a difficult time building anything in Waimea, since he would have needed special approval from both county and state authorities. "With the opposition that's been expressed, it would be difficult for the [state] Land Board to even consider issuing a permit for any use in the back of the valley," affrrmed state Department of Land and Natural Resources Director Peter Young. Before they switched their votes, several of the eouneil members said that they believed a settlement might be the best way to preserve the valley, since it is unlikely that permits would ever be granted for development on the protected land. Audubon's Flicker, however, said that if the valley were divided, his organization would likely not

eonhnue running the nature center. "Our interest in coming into the valley was to help protect it," he said. What now? With the Feb. 13 trial date in the case fast approaching, Mayor Hannemann has said he would still like to reach a settlement with Wolffer and avoid trial. However, any settlement offer would onee again have to go before the eouneil for approval. The mayor reiterated his eoncerns in a meeting with several OHA trustees in late December, at whieh he also pressed them to name a dollar amount they would be willing to contribute to the purchase of the valley. The trustees replied, however, that the board had not yet had an opportunity to formally review and vote on the matter. A status report on the Waimea condemnation was scheduled to eome before the board's Asset and Resource Management Conmiittee in early Ianuary.

Opponents of a settlement, meanwhile, say it is unlikely that a jury would set an exorbitant price for the conservation-zoned land. "Reject the settlement and go to court," well-known attorney Iames Case, who has been consulting for the advocacy group Stewards of Waimea Valley, told the City Council. "You have a good hand .... You are not going get hurt by any jury of your peers." As for Wolffer, his attorney, William McCorriston, said that his client would also weleome a jury trial. "Actually, Christian is a little bit relieved," McCorriston told the Honolulu Star-Buīīetin after the eouneil vote. "He thought he had given too good a deal [in the proposed settlement]." Waimea advocates, meanwhile, vowed to continue fighting any return of valley land to Wolffer. And OHA Trustee John Waihe'e IV also told the press that "there is no way we would just let that happen." S

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