Kudos to the Kaua‘i County Council for voting this past Wednesday to approve purchase via eminent domain of a 23.5-acre lot in Kilauea for affordable housing.
Forcing a landowner to sell their private property to the government is never the first choice of policymakers. However, when there is no land on the market that is suitable AND the shortage of affordable housing so great, sometimes it’s the only option available. The process can be long, complicated and hostile. But at the end of the day, the landowner is in fact paid “fair market value” as determined by the court and multiple appraisals.
A messy process to be sure, but necessary it seems in this case to fulfill an urgent public need.
Typically, the county will attempt to negotiate with the owner, who would likely seek a greatly inflated price based on the property’s speculative value should it be rezoned from agriculture to residential or multi-family use. The county, of course, would much rather purchase the land valued “as is” and at the lowest price possible.
Congratulations to the County Council, County Housing Agency and mayor for taking this significant step and aggressively pursuing the expansion of Kaua‘i’s affordable-housing inventory.
Gotta ask, however: What about Lihu‘e?
Grove Farm owns 38,000 acres of land on Kaua‘i, including lands that border almost the entire perimeter of Lihu‘e, AND they essentially control much of the water for Lihu‘e (and other areas).
Lihu‘e is where the jobs are. In Lihu‘e, there are sewers, bike paths, hospitals, shopping, bars and restaurants — not to mention the airport, harbor, college and seat of government.
The answer (excuse) most commonly offered for the lack of affordable-housing development in Lihu‘e is a lack of water. However, the lack of water has not in the past stopped the development of multiple shopping centers, golf courses, new resort timeshare developments and expensive residential housing.
Yes, the availability of water is a challenge, but not an unsurmountable one. There are always workarounds, and smart people I am sure could come up with solutions and alternatives.
Council Chair Arryl Kaneshiro is approaching his final year on the council. He, along with Councilmember Mason Chock, will be “terming out” and unable to run for reelection in 2022.
As the chair of the council AND a current and long-time employee of Grove Farm, this would seem to be an opportune time for Kaneshiro to initiate such a conversation. Of course, there is a conflict of interest, but we should put that out in the sunshine and deal with it. Certainly, the chair should not vote on whether to do a deal or not, nor the details of whatever deal that may come forth. But he should not be prevented from helping to start the conversation. In fact, he should be encouraged to do so.
Kaua‘i desperately needs truly affordable housing. Grove Farm owns almost all the developable land in and around Lihu‘e, and they control much of the water. The county controls the zoning and the development-approval process. One would think they could get together and negotiate a win-win for the people of Kaua‘i. Otherwise, if negotiation was not possible, one would think the county might treat Grove Farm similarly as they are treating the landowner in Kilauea.
One would think. But then again, maybe not in the world of politics.
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Gary Hooser is the former vice-chair of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, and served eight years in the state Senate, where he was majority leader. He also served for eight years on the Kaua‘i County Council, and was the former director of the state Office of Environmental Quality Control. He serves presently in a volunteer capacity as board president of the Hawai‘i Alliance for Progressive Action and is executive director of the Pono Hawai‘i Initiative.
