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Hooked on pain. - . Q+A: Simeon Den Holiday gift guides, . . I PAlU 1 I:b. 0 L U .,M"..., ,' Nov. 23 - 29 ,2005 Volume 15, Number 47 www.honoluluweekly.com'

pain. I:b., ' 0 L U on - Hawaii Kai Hui · farmers do not own the land on which they toil. This fact has come full circle for the farmers of Kamila ... looking to change Kamilo Nui

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Page 1: pain. I:b., ' 0 L U on - Hawaii Kai Hui · farmers do not own the land on which they toil. This fact has come full circle for the farmers of Kamila ... looking to change Kamilo Nui

Hooked on pain.- .

Q+A: Simeon Den

Holiday gift guides,. . I PAlU 1

I:b. 0 L U.,M"..., , '

Nov. 23 - 29 ,2005 Volume 15, Number 47 www.honoluluweekly.com'

Page 2: pain. I:b., ' 0 L U on - Hawaii Kai Hui · farmers do not own the land on which they toil. This fact has come full circle for the farmers of Kamila ... looking to change Kamilo Nui

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Page 3: pain. I:b., ' 0 L U on - Hawaii Kai Hui · farmers do not own the land on which they toil. This fact has come full circle for the farmers of Kamila ... looking to change Kamilo Nui

v",,=,

The farmers ofKamila NuL, the lastsizeable Pieceofundeveloped land

amilo Nui is not easy to find, Even if you havelocated it on a map, you'll wind your waythrough the suburban maze of Hawai'i Kai onstreets not designed toget anyone anywherebut to the next tracthouse, the next cul-de-sac, Finally, on a street

that appears to deadend at a chainlinkfe~ce, a narrow asphalt road leaves thesubdivision behind. curves around a

wild," Nii explains. "And so does he." Nii points out towardthe road, where a black feral pig, his snout close to the ground,saunters past. "He let me scratch him once. As long as they

don't bother the plants, we don'tbother them."

Niiand his cousin Richard just upthe road work a total of 6.2 acres of

land that their families first occupiedin 1970, when their original nurs-eries were relocated from land makaiof Kamilo Nui (often called

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Page 4: pain. I:b., ' 0 L U on - Hawaii Kai Hui · farmers do not own the land on which they toil. This fact has come full circle for the farmers of Kamila ... looking to change Kamilo Nui

"L-{, C u,u ItC 1-' L-C-L-C- v J

undeveloped landin Hawai'i Kai, arebeing asked to selltheir leases to a

development firm thatwants to build morehousing. Will theysell or will they-fight?

- sac. Finally, on a streetthat appears to dead end at a chainlinkfeI1.cce,a nmow asphalt road leaves thesubdivision behind, curves around acouple of bends, and leads to a greenoasis of small farms and plant nurseriesagainst a backdrop of a shallow valleysloping up to the last wall of theKo'olau.

On a recent Sunday afternoon nurs-eryman Glenn Nii, whose father startedthe family's nursery business in the,50s, takes a break from hauling com-post beneath the shade of decades-old r'banyan trees. "Hibiscus is our special-ty-what we're known for. We createour own hybrids." He proudly points tothe display of flowers at the front of his"office," a wooden shed open on threesides, housing a desk and a credit cardmachine. The flowers are fantastic:

unique shades of yellow, red, pink andone particularly bizme combination ofmauve and deep purple. Chickensscratch in the dirt nearby.- "They run

land that their families first occupiedin 1970, when their original nurs-eries were relocated from land makai

of Kamilo I N"ui (often calledKamilonui Valley) to make roomfor Henry J. Kaiser's &ream ofHawai'i Kai. At the time, 23 pmcels(leased to 16 individuals) werecarved out of the rocky, naITOWstripof land at the back of the valley to al-ready established farmers and nurs-ery growers-predominantly Japan-ese-who had lived and worked in

the area for a generation or more.(Some of the old timers have movedtheir businesses three times, as de-velopment has pushed them furthertoward the mountain.) Now they'relooking to move again.

Like most small business peoplewho cultivate food, flowers andplants for O'ahu consumers, thesefarmers do not own the land on

which they toil. This fact has comefull circle for the farmers of Kamila

Nui, as their parcels, leased fromKameharneha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE) 35 years ago,come unGer the gun as the last sizeable piece of undevelopedland in the bedroom community of Hawai 'i Kai. A local de-veloper, Stanford Cm, has reached an agreement with KSBEto buy the 87 acres for an undisclosed amount of money.

But if ever a land deal came with conditions it is this one. In

order for Cm to buy the property he must first convince allof the leaseholders to sell him their lease interest (the leases run

until2025-although the lease rents are due to be renegotiat-ed in 2007). According to Kekoa Paulsen, spokesperson forKSBE, "After the leases would be transferred to Mr. Cm. ..we[the Estate] would essentially sell him the lease to fee. Theleases would then be terminated and he would become the fee

simple owner of the property." But wait, there's more. Kami-10Nui is currently zoned for agriculture. (Along with a smallparcel of land behind Kaiser High School, it is the last remain-ing parcel of ag-zoned land in east O'ahu.) And StanfordCm-whose gated Peninsula atHawai'i Kai project featured"executive residences" for $1.85 million and blocks of condosranging in price from $400,000 to $600,000-is probably notlooking to change Kamilo Nui into one big taro patch.

"What would be needed for any kind of developmepf '0 goforward," says Bob Stanfield, Chief of Development anl LoneChange with the city's Department of Planning and Permitting,

www.honoluluweekly.com - November 23-29, 2005 - Honolulu Weekly 5

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Page 5: pain. I:b., ' 0 L U on - Hawaii Kai Hui · farmers do not own the land on which they toil. This fact has come full circle for the farmers of Kamila ... looking to change Kamilo Nui

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KarniloNui

"is first, an amendment to the East O'ahu SustainableCommunitiesPlan in orderto move theag/urbanbound-ary,and second,you would stillneed a zone change,be-cause the area is currently zoned for agriculture." Thatprocess could take upwards of two years according toStanfield.

Complicating the matter is the fact that no one canimmediatelyforce the farmersto do anythingthey don'twant to do-they each hold a land lease until 2025.\Xf]",t'" mAT'" th'" irJp" Afthp ""],,, Afth'" hnrJ "nn"TPnth,

an insult to the people of Hawai 'i Kai, who have seentheir community built out-as the plan indicated itwould be. This is Kalama Valley allover again."

Kalama Valley, minutes away from Kamilo Nui tothe east, became a political battleground in 1970 whenKSBE began evicting long-time leaseholding farmers tomake room for a subdivision. Pig farmer George Santosheld out against the bulldozers for months, supported bya coalition of environmental groups and a nascent Na-ti"", J.J""",ii"n ,;crht" mA""'1TI",nt TArJ"" thP ""11",,, i" full

Page 6: pain. I:b., ' 0 L U on - Hawaii Kai Hui · farmers do not own the land on which they toil. This fact has come full circle for the farmers of Kamila ... looking to change Kamilo Nui

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6 Honolulu Weekly - November 23-29. 2005 - www.honoluluweekly.com

process could take upwards of two years according toStanfield.

Complicating the matter is the fact that no one canimmediately force the fanners to do anything they don'twant to do-they each hold a land lease until 2025.What's more, the idea of the sale of the land apparentlydid not originate with the developer Carr or KSBE'Thefanners approached us," says Neil Hannahs, director ofthe land assets division of KSBE. "The co-op broughtMr. Carr in with his offer."

Lillie Wong, who has been president of the KamiloNui fanners co-op since its founding in 1967, conf1flllSthe claim, but has an explanation. "I negotiated the ini-tiallease deal between Henry Kaiser, Bishop Estate andthe fanners. 1tried to get the longest lease possible-55years is very long for. an agricultural lease. And I'mproud of that. The developers have been approaching usfor years to sell-but the fanners always said no. Whenthey were younger. Now, they're old. Why should theywait until what they have [the lease interest] is worthnothing? If they sell now at least they get something forall their years of hard work."

Wong, who by all accounts fought the last develop-ment incursion in the area-when Schuler Homes was

able to get acreage rezoned, and its Leolani subdivisionof townhouses pushed right up against the currentKamilo Nui boundary-seems an unlikely person to bepushing for a sale of a place she loves. "I am doing it forthe fanners. The majority have no one in their familieswho want to carry on. Their children are lawyers anddoctors now-professionals. It's not about whether theland will be developed, but how. It should be done in away that will enhance the neighborhood, with as fewhouses on as large a lot possible."

Kalama Valleyall over again?Just exactly what developer Carr has in mind for theproperty, however, is not clear. He has mentioned erect-ing 200 homes on the site, although developed parcelsnearby allow for several times that density. Whateverhis plans, the group Livable Hawai'i Kai Hui, recentlyformed around the issue of over-development in theneighborhood, says enough is enough. They submitteda petition signed by 3,500 Hawai'i Kai residents to thecity coullcil, demanding that the urban/ag boundary re-main right where it is. Hui president Elizabeth Reillydoes not come off like a tree hugger. "I'm not anti-de-velopment. 1am for sensible development, as laid out inthe city's East O'ahu Sustainable Communities Plan.The plan is "cry dear. It says that Kamilo Nui must Ie-main in agliculture untIl 202Q Changing that would be

- -the east, became a political battleground in 1970 whenKSBE began evicting long-time leaseholding fanners tomake room for a subdivision. Pig farmer George Santosheld out against the bulldozers for months, supported bya coalition of environme~tal groups and a nascent Na-tive Hawaiian rights movement. Today the valley is fullof tract homes.

"The beginning of the sovereignty movement is gen-erally taken to be the struggle against KamehamehaSchools at Kalama Valley, when the people were evict-ed so that the estate could build those fancy houses,"says Professor Haunani-Kay Trask of the UH Center forHawaiian Studies. Trask, who says she was unaware ofthe Kamilo Nui controversy, nevertheless [lids KSBE'sposition "no surprise." 'They [KSBE] are nothing morethan a development corporation, and we who are thegrads (Trask graduated from Kamehameha in 1967) andthe Hawaiians and the heirs of Bernice Pauahi have

been fighting that approach since the post -statehood eraof development began."

The fact that no Hawaiian group has thus far raised apublic protest concerning KSBE's proposed sale ofKamilo Nui puzzles some in the mostly non-HawaiianLivable Hawai'iXai Hui. "We would like Hawaiian

support in this," says the Hui's Riley, "but we don'tknow who to talk to."

The EstateKSBE's Paulsen says they have had private discussionswith "stakeholders" concerning the proposed sale."Many in the community prefer that we not sell ourland. And we have strong feelings about keeping land inthe trust. We've explained to them that we intend tomaintain a perpetual presence in Hawai'i-to keep thefootprint of our landholdings essentially the same. Wemay sell a piece here-but buy somewhere else."

As Paulsen puts it: "Our main consideration contin-ues to be to generate income that will allow us to notonly sustain the [educational] programs we have, butexpand them to reach more kids."

But the "it's all for the keiki" argument leaves manypeople in Kamilo Nui and Hawai'i Kai wondering justhow far KSBE will go to maXimize the value of its realestate. Hannahs points out the new reality: 'We don't doresidential leasehold anymore. We need to be preparedto part with our fee simple interest in order to see resi-dentialland we hold developed to its highest and bestuse." The estate has listed five factors it considers before

selling any parcel: "cultural, economic, environmental,and educational or community capacity for Hawaiians."Kamilo Nui leaseholder Tom Yamabe asks, "What

Page 7: pain. I:b., ' 0 L U on - Hawaii Kai Hui · farmers do not own the land on which they toil. This fact has come full circle for the farmers of Kamila ... looking to change Kamilo Nui

about the wants of the rest of me community?" Reillysees another factor missing from the list. "They [KSBE]show very little respect for what the city has planned.Kamilo Nui is not zoned for development. Doesn't thatcount for something?"

As for the signers of the Livable Hawai'i Kai Hui pe-tition against developing Kamilo Nui, Paulsen pointsout, "I'm sure that then~ are others in that communitywho we do not hear from, and that it doesn't botherthem to see more development out there." The estate islooking to developer Stanford Carr, "... who wants tobring the change out there, to work that through thecommuriity. If community opposition is such that... per-mits are not granted [for boundary and zoning changes]that's part of the process too. That's-where communityinput is really gathered, and that's where it has its im-pact."

Which would seem toput the ball in the City Coun-cil's court. In July 2004 couneil member Charles Djou,who represents Hawai'i Kai, introduced a resolution tomaintain Kamilo Nui's agricultural designation until atleast 20l0-the lifespan of the city's Sustainable Com-munities Plan. The resolution-with no force of law-

passed unanimously. "Nothing at all is happening withregard to the city and Kamilo Nui at present," Djousays, "no inquiry from the developer concerning an ap-plication for a boundary change, zoning change, noth-ing. As far as the city is concerned, Kamilo Nui is agand it will remain ag."

Since KSBE has stated that the deal with Stanford

Carr is contingent on the developer first". .. obtainingthe necessary entitlements, that is, the boundary andzoning changes that would take Kamilo Nui out of ag,"it seems odd that Carr would not 'be applying for those'changes now, since, as Djou points out, the process ofzone change could take up to two years, provided theCouncil went along. Odd unless you read the lease thefarmers have with KSBE, Djou says. "The lease speci-fies that the lots must remain in agriculture for the lengthof the lease [until 2025]," he explains. "The only ex-

-~~%mw"@@Uii&*Mii1l'

sued in court by Carr and Kamehameha Schools to forcethem to go along. If they succeeded, at that point therewould be unanimity, and Carr could proceed [with thepurchase]. But I would think you would have to haveat least two-thirds, or three-quarters of the leaseholdersgoing along. That would show a judge that the hold-outsare not being reasonable, not abiding by their fellow-signees' wishes."

Carr has recently sent out cash offers (in one case ap-proximately $450,000) "for the value of the lease" toeach of the Kamilo Nui leaseholders. As one of the

farmers (who requested anonymity) puts it, "What arewe supposed to do with this? There is no compensationfor oUr businesses, for over 30 years of improvementswe've made. Initially we heard talk of compensation, ofrelocation money.. Now it's 'here's the money,' but eventhat's oruy if he [Carr] can get the zone change flTSt."

Under the terms of the 1970 agreement all of the own-ers of Kamilo Nui' s 16 leases are automatically mem-bers of the co-op. In its dealings with the co-op thus far,KSBE has proceeded on the assumption that Wongspeaks for most or all of its members, and based on thatassumption has' granted to Carr "... the exclusive right towork [on behalf of the leaseholders] to apply for entitle-ments [zone changes] and to negotiate the fee simplepurchase for the lots from Kamehameha Schools."KSBE insists, however, that they are not trying to forcethe leaseholders out, <.mdthat, as spokesperson Paulsenhas repeatt<dly stated, "... we would support the farmersin their effort to continue farming." Just how far thatsupport would extend, however, is a matter of concern'to at least three Kamilo Nui nursery owners.

TheholdoutS .

Dean Takebayashi runs Chrysanthemums of Hawai 'i onthree acres of Kamilo Nui land. The nursery is a mazeof greenhouses and wooden benches filled with everyimaginable type of cl1rysanthemum, among otherspecies of plants. Takebayashi recently purchased thelease, and has no intention of picking up and leaving. "It

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Page 8: pain. I:b., ' 0 L U on - Hawaii Kai Hui · farmers do not own the land on which they toil. This fact has come full circle for the farmers of Kamila ... looking to change Kamilo Nui

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fanners have with KS'BE, Djou says. "The lease speci-fies that the lots must remain in agriculture for the lengthof the lease [until 2025]," he explains, "The only ex-

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imaginable type of chrysanthemum, among otherspecies of plants. Takebayashi recently purchased thelease, andhas no intentionof pickingup and leaving. "It

ception would be if all the fanners unanimously agree tochange the covenant. If that happened, a new lease couldbe created. That would seem to be why Carr has goneno further with the process. He needs everyone on boardfirst."

Or does he? Carr (who did not return phone calls forthis article) has stated that he only needs a "majority" ofthe fanners to agree to sell. Co-op president Wong ap-proached KSBE with Carr, even though at least three ofher co-op members had expressed reservations about thesale. When pressed for clarification, KSBE's Hannahsstates, "If one or two guys hold out [refuse to sell], wewill have to see what we have at the end of the day."Say what?

Djou, an attorney, throws light on the apparent con-'tradiction. "If enough of the signatories to a leasecovenant like this want out of the covenant, then theycan sue the hold-out," he explains. "In this case if therewere.hold-outs in Kamilo Nui they would have to be

would be really hard to relocate. A lot of equipment, likemy irrigation system, can't be reused, I would just haveto leave it behind." As far as the controversy over thesale of Kamilo Nui goes, Takebayashi is concentratinginstead on the renegotiation of the lease rents in 2007."If Kamehameha [KSBE] offers us a reasonable rate,then I would continue right here. And, with almost 20years remaining [on the lease], I would also have asaleable item-I could sell the business to another

fanner who is interested, That's how I got the place."Just up the road from his cousin Glenn, Richard Nii

runs the largest nursery in Kamilo Ntii, an operation be-gun by his father Shigeki. "Obviously, I have a lot in-vested here, and if I have a choice I will stay. Personal-ly, I think that if Bishop Estate makes the lease for thenext 20 years so that the farmers can afford to stay inbusiness, then I think half would stay. Lillie Wong is re-ally talking about the older generation-a lot of themare retiring and their kids are not taking over, They want

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Page 9: pain. I:b., ' 0 L U on - Hawaii Kai Hui · farmers do not own the land on which they toil. This fact has come full circle for the farmers of Kamila ... looking to change Kamilo Nui

);i

Kami(o-Nu i

to get somethingout of it instead of plains," . . .theregettingzero." are four names

Which is just her point, says' on the lease,"Wong. "You're talking to the few spanning twopeoplewho are stillworkingthe land generations of

0 alright; but they are not the actual 0 fa.mily mem-.leaseh6lders,which are the parents. bers: And next

. And, with possibly one or two ex- to him, heceptions,they want to sell." points out,is the -

Not so, saysGlenn Nii.Ris father Enomoto family, who have grownCharles is the original leaseholder com, lettuceand daikonfor decades.on their parcel,but currently,h~ex-. "TheYoselltheir vegetables in the

open markets all over the island.They would rather stay~becauseit's thekids in the faniilydoingmost

of the work now.They don't hire anyoutside workers tohelp." Nii worrieshow KSBE will re-gard Kamilo Nuiwhen they renegoti-ate the lease rents."Will they treat us

like gentlemen farmers and chargeaccordingly?"he asks.

Evenfarmers whohave previous-

~

ly stated that they want to s~ll are in .await-and- s~ mode whenit comesto the details!Katsumi"Kats" Riga,

0 one ,of the original leaseholders, 0

who'farms a portion of his 6.9 acreparcef in green onions, beets andmizuna acro.ss the road from theNiis, doesn't think much of Carr'soffer. "We've put in a lot of ini-provements over the years andCarr's offer doesn't compensate.usfor that. Plus," 0 .dhowlong we g~ita oney.He needs to go~ <~,,~zoning

0 change, public hearings 4Jj-$1:-that' sgonna take years. I'm not waitingthat long. If nobody buys me out,

0 and with the tease renegotiationc9ming Ul', I'll leave; before thattime [20D?).The new lease rent isthebig thing.They [KSBE]had saidit woutd,bethree,maybe four fu,nes

. as much."KSBE has stated that they will'

continue to base the rents on theagriculturalzoning of the land, but,

. says HannahS'.'thevalue of ag landeverywherehas skyrocketed."H~-nahs' talks ab6ut KamiloNui onlyservesto highlight GlennNii's con-cerns. "It's not good ag land," Han-nahs expiai.ns."The soil is rocky,the farmers use potable water, it' s

0 prone to flooding, and they are very. distant from established ag land on

a'ahu. Peoplesflythey like the openspace, but for those in thej~~arbysuburbs there,ar6tractof§ firing upearly in the morning, faimsmells,the use of pesticides and chronicingress and egress oroblems through

Page 10: pain. I:b., ' 0 L U on - Hawaii Kai Hui · farmers do not own the land on which they toil. This fact has come full circle for the farmers of Kamila ... looking to change Kamilo Nui

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suburbs there ,are tractorsf1ring upearly in the morning, farm smells,the use of pesticides and chronicingre~sand egressproblemsthroughan established subdivision. They[theleaseholders]have felt thepres-sures of encroaching developmentaround them, and it just isn't sup-portive of agriculturalactivity." .

Riley believes these argumentsare a smoke screen, hiding the Es-tate's desire to unloadoKamil6Nui."VIe consider the valley to be thenatural watershed for Hawai'iKai-it is the first line of defense ina system of flood control, of whichthe marina is a part." Council mem-ber Djou agrees. "If you put homesthere," he said in a recent HonoluluAdvertiser article, "where will thewater go?" Longtime residents ofHawai'i Kai remember the NewYears' Eve flood of-1987, whenfloodwaterin Haha'ione valley(justto the west side of Mariner's Ridgefrom Kamilo Nui) went whereveritpleased, turning Kahena Street, in anewly completedsubdivision,into a .ravine 10 to 20 feet deep, and 30feet wide in places.

In his fifty yearsas a farmerRiga,has seen floods and droughts comeand go. He's a practical man, whoknows a change is inevitable whenhis leaserent comesup for renegoti-ation two years from now. "BeforeHenry Kaiser' put one house outhere, we were all farming on Lu-nalilo Home Road. The hog people,the poultrypeople, thecarnationandflower growers and regular veg-'etable guys like me. We all werethrown out when Kaiser came in.Bishop [Estate] may say they wantto help the farmer-but I know howthey operate. They feel they gottaget their money back, their return.So if the farmers cannot pay, whatchoicetheygot?" .