LIHU‘E — An attempt to expand Black Pot, the county park where Hanalei River meets the ocean, by purchasing an adjacent parcel will come “down to the wire” and is still contingent on Gov. Linda Lingle releasing state funds, a
LIHU‘E — An attempt to expand Black Pot, the county park where Hanalei River meets the ocean, by purchasing an adjacent parcel will come “down to the wire” and is still contingent on Gov. Linda Lingle releasing state funds, a community group pushing for the expansion said this week.
“It’s going to be a photo finish to be sure,” Kaua‘i Public Land Trust Executive Director Jennifer Luck said Monday.
A bill recently introduced at the Kaua‘i County Council that would allocate $350,000 from the Hanalei District Fund is on track to be approved on March 31, the same date as the deadline for the release of $800,000 in state Legacy Lands Conservation Program funding that would give KPLT enough money — $1.85 million in the county Open Space Fund has already been tapped — to complete the $3 million purchase, Luck said.
Landowner John Hodge, who had his 32,000-square-foot oceanfront parcel near Hanalei Pier appraised at nearly $3.9 million, agreed recently to reduce his price from $3.3 million — if KPLT preserves the park for public use.
“I think it’s really important for all of us to preserve any part of the Hawaiian Islands, the beauty of the Hawaiian Islands, and the shoreline, but having the ability to preserve a part of Hanalei Bay, which is incredibly unique, would be fantastic,” Hodge said Monday. “My family and my girls and my wife would love to help do that.”
Kaua‘i Tropical Properties Principal Broker Bill Gillette, who lists the property for Hodge, said Monday that the property would probably yield around $4 million, even in the current market, because Hanalei Bay oceanfront lots rarely come up for sale.
“I would think even in this market, it’s unique. Lots come up on Hanalei Bay once every 10 years. It’s not a common occurrence, so it commands a little higher price, even in a market like this,” Gillette said. Hodge bought the property in 2005 for $4 million, and Gillette had it listed for $4.495 million last June.
Step by step
The acquisition would be “the first step in establishing a great public facility for one of the most beautiful beaches in the Hawaiian Islands,” Councilman Jay Furfaro said Monday, noting that the county’s control of the accreted sand was Step 1, to be followed by acquisitions of the Hodge parcel, two nearby parcels owned by the Sheehans and finally a former Princeville-controlled parcel that would give the county a large L-shaped beach park.
Councilman Tim Bynum said Monday that he understands now is a difficult time to spend county money on land acquisition, but said both the Open Space Fund — which can be expended after recommendations from the Open Space Commission — and the Hanalei District Fund cannot be used for balancing the budget.
After unanimously passing the money bill on first reading Feb. 17, the County Council scheduled a public hearing for Bill No. 2349 on March 17.
The Budget and Finance Committee could take up and pass the bill as soon as March 24, and the full council could pass the bill on March 31.
Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. supports the effort and “will sign the bill as soon as possible once it hits his desk,” Executive Assistant Beth Tokioka said in a Tuesday e-mail.
“Being that Hodge is one of several potential expansion parcels, it’s hard to say at this point what it will specifically be used for, however, the overall vision is to provide more and better parking, more recreational use area and to better manage and perhaps isolate commercial uses within the park,” Tokioka said. “The park is so popular and so heavily used that expansion is necessary in order for the public to truly enjoy it.”
The stakes are high, Luck said, because while Hodge has been “tremendous to work with, and is certainly hoping the park expansion happens,” he has begun to dig out a foundation for an already-permitted single-family home that he will pursue if the deal falls through.
Luck said that she hopes, if everything goes according to plan, she can send the finished paperwork to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources as soon as Carvalho signs the bill and have Lingle release the money.
State application pending
DLNR Chair Laura Thielen said Tuesday that “so far, because of the state fiscal situation, I think people on the state side are going to continue to be cautious and look at the properties where the Legacy Lands funds get to 100 percent of the acquisition price.”
Last June, a previous attempt to purchase the Hodge lot failed, at least in part because even if the Legacy Lands application had been approved, KPLT still would have been $700,000 short. She confirmed Tuesday that the state does evaluate proposals both for acquisition funding and also for a plan for management and operation, although those conditions are not required by law.
Thielen said DLNR has met with Senate President Colleen Hanabusa and House Speaker Calvin Say and is waiting to hear back from them regarding their recommendations. On March 11, the Board of Land and Natural Resources will meet and discuss various proposals.
A DLNR Legacy Lands official said Tuesday that BLNR could possibly give its blessing to the application on the condition that the matching funds from the county gain approval, and said she could potentially give the final OK if the Legislature’s leadership and BLNR both sign off and if KPLT gets its documentary evidence of the county’s money to DLNR by the end of the day March 31.
Another representative of DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife, which oversees the Legacy Lands program, said the March 31 deadline is not set legislatively but is an internal guideline to ensure that recommendations reach Lingle’s desk in a timely manner.
“In land acquisitions, there is always a flurry of activity up to the very last minute,” Thielen said.
For more information, visit hawaii.gov/dlnr/dofaw/llcp.
• Michael Levine, assistant news editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or mlevine@kauaipubco.com.
