HANALEI — County officials on Tuesday and Wednesday told commercial tenants operating on the property immediately behind Black Pot Beach Park in Hanalei to vacate the land by today, as the county would be taking possession of the land. The
HANALEI — County officials on Tuesday and Wednesday told commercial tenants operating on the property immediately behind Black Pot Beach Park in Hanalei to vacate the land by today, as the county would be taking possession of the land.
The parcel taken Wednesday, measuring one-third of an acre, is owned by Hanalei boatyard owner Michael Sheehan. And if county officials hold on to their word, more of Sheehan’s land will be taken in the next few days.
“They issued cease and desist orders to all my commercial clients, including my nonprofit/educational operation (ran by biologist Terry Lilley),” Sheehan said. “They kicked everybody out with 24-hours notice.”
He said the order was “a bit harsh” because in most eminent domain proceedings, a price is previously agreed upon and paid, and then a 30-day notice is given.
Lilley said the mayor came to the property with the police and served documents to Sheehan telling him to leave the property — which Sheehan’s family has owned for 140 years — in 24 hours.
“It’s immoral and is just simply outrageous,” Lilley said.
County spokeswoman Beth Tokioka said the notice of the ex parte order was served to Sheehan personally, and on behalf of property co-owner Hanalei River Holdings, 10 days ago. Sheehan’s tenants were not served legal papers, rather a verbal and written notice that they should vacate property within 24 hours, she said.
“It was important to the mayor that we properly notify the tenants and treat them with respect and aloha,” Tokioka said.
Furthermore, the property taken Wednesday is just the first of three parcels to be taken. Tokioka said the administration is moving ahead with the condemnation of three properties along Hanalei River owned by Sheehan and Hanalei River Holdings. The other two properties are immediately next to the one taken Wednesday, and measure a combined 2.29 acres.
“We have taken possession of one of the properties and anticipate that we will secure the other two parcels in the near future,” she said. “Once the county takes legal possession of these parcels, tenants currently using the property will have to vacate, as they will not have permits to operate on county property.”
Despite saying that the parcel taken by the county is “sort of the heart” of his remaining property, Sheehan said he supports the county’s goals.
“I’m all in favor of the park expansion,” he said. “It’s not about money, it’s about what the county is going to do in the future with the property. It’s mine and my family’s concern.”
Sheehan said he just wants to ensure the future land use is in the best use of the community, his friends and family.
“We don’t want it to turn into a zoo,” he said. “We just want to be assured the place will be properly taken care of and be respected. It has been in the family for an awful long time. That’s all I’m concerned about.”
The county has offered him some money, and put some of it down in the court, according to Sheehan. But he is saying he hasn’t seen the money.
On a Oct. 19, 2011 meeting at the Kaua‘i County Council chambers, County Managing Director Gary Heu told council members that since 2009 the county has made several attempts to negotiate the purchase of Sheehan’s property, but was unable to reach an agreement.
The county’s last offer to Sheehan was $5.89 million, in an effort to reach a “fair purchase price” based on an appraisal of the fee-simple value of the property in October 2010, according to Heu, who said Sheehan never made a counter-offer to the county.
At that same council meeting, Heu said that rather than providing additional information on the property, Sheehan increased commercial activity on it, even after his permits had been revoked by the Kaua‘i Planning Commission and affirmed by the Fifth Circuit Court.
Legal battles between Sheehan and the county date back almost a quarter of a century, according to Sheehan. In the latest round, the Kaua‘i Planning Commission in 2010 revoked Sheehan’s permits to operate a boatyard facility he had built on his property some 25 years ago for $250,000, and is now worth it about $1 million, according to Sheehan’s testimony to the council in October 2011. Now the issue has progressed to the federal court in Honolulu, Sheehan said.
“That is about the third run at it,” he said. “Hopefully this time will be the last one.”
Sheehan said his boatyard is the only one in the state that has a boat “washdown” and wastewater treatment certified by the Department of Health and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
“I’m trying to lead by example here; sometimes that stuff gets forgotten,” he said.
Sheehan is saying he doesn’t want to fight with anyone, he wants to be friendly and work closely with the mayor.
But he also said the permits taken from him were possibly constitutionally protected and may overlap with the condemnation of the property.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@ thegardenisland.com.
