The owner of Hakalau Point says he is sticking to his last offer after the Hawaii County Council advanced a resolution last week seeking to preserve the site, formerly part of the Hakalau Sugar Plantation Co.
Steve Shropshire, who is proposing a multi-use development on the land, said he is willing to sell the nearly 9-acre site only if the county also buys 87 acres he owns in Hakalau gulch for a total of $4.25 million. As of Monday, he said that hasn’t changed.
“I provided my terms in a letter last September,” he said. “I’m not going to be interested or forced to sell for less.”
So far, the council is only interested in the former plantation property, which sits on cliffs above Hakalau bay. The two parcels that make up the property are assessed at $842,600, according to the county’s Real Property Tax Office.
The council voted 9-0, with Hilo Councilman Dennis “Fresh” Onishi voting yes with reservations, in favor of the resolution while meeting Thursday as the Finance Committee. The resolution, which authorizes the county to negotiate the purchase of the property, requires a vote in a regular council meeting to be adopted.
Because of its history and location, Hamakua Councilwoman Valerie Poindexter said many of her constituents want to see the land preserved.
The county’s Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Commission Preservation Commission listed the site as its No. 3 priority for preservation in its 2015 report.
Poindexter said Hakalau residents are concerned about the development changing the former plantation community’s character.
“We don’t want to be another Honolulu,” she said.
This is not the first time Shropshire’s development plans have received a chilly reception.
Seven years ago, he withdrew an application with the state Land Use Commission seeking urban designation for up to 99 acres of agriculture and conservation land he owns in Papaikou after facing community opposition.
“A‘ole Papaikou Point Project” signs can still be seen in the community.
Regarding his Hakalau Point plans, Shropshire said he is not trying to prevent the public from accessing the land and he thinks the mix of residential, commercial and agricultural uses would compliment the small rural community.
Two plantation warehouses remain on the property, which Shropshire said would be preserved, likely with a plantation museum.
Trails and open space would be provided for the public along the pali and down to the shore, he said.
“Economic development benefits the local community,” Shropshire said.
He said the development would include “farm-to-table” dining and a farmers market.
Poindexter said she also is concerned about the development increasing the cost of living in the area, especially if it includes high-end homes.
“It’s about keeping, maintaining our cultural lifestyle,” she said.
“The one thing I don’t want to see is that our local community being pushed out of their because it’s not affordable for them anymore.”
Poindexter said she’d prefer to see care homes providing kupuna an option to “age in place” to help drive the local economy.
Shropshire said he is open to increasing density to make housing more affordable. He has proposed an 11-home subdivision.
His rezoning application for the property will go before the Windward Planning Commission in September, leaving him and the council until the end of August to reach an agreement, if one is possible.
The council also will have to consider approval of changing the property’s zoning, needed for the development to proceed.
Poindexter said she will argue that any rezoning should be delayed until a community development plan is complete and a cliff stability study is done.
“I totally respect the view of the landowner,” she said.
“My loyalty will always be to the community and not the developer.”
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
