Buying rights preserves land
Source: The Maui News
September 13, 2007
Ownership of land is not among the big issues on Maui. The big issue is what the owners might do with that land and when. Many times, large chunks of property have changed hands several times before any development is done.
Wailea, originally developed on former ranch land, was first planned by Matson Navigation and Northwest Mutual Life Insurance Co. That was several owners ago. Makena Resort originally was part of Ulupalakua Ranch. Seibu bought the property and developed the hotel and a golf course.
Since Kaanapali was developed by Amfac, buying and selling resort property has been a major business on Maui. During the 1970s when the condos began going up in West Maui and in Kihei, a number of local investors, often forming huis, did well by buying and selling, parlaying small profits into large capital.
Development possibilities of raw land today are mostly in sparsely settled or remote areas of Maui and Molokai. Most of the time, those properties have been in the same hands for decades, if not generations.
Using a model of successful projects on the Mainland, the Maui Coastal Land Trust has been able to set aside undeveloped land for the future enjoyment of all Mauians. Buying the land is one option, of course, but it is the most expensive way.
Buying the development rights allows the property owner to continue using the land as is and assures there will be no development in the future. The Maui Coastal Land Trust set a precedent in the state when it bought the development rights to 168 acres on Molokai’s southeastern shore. The trust’s purchase of a permanent conservation easement was the first ever use of the state’s Legacy Land Conservation program financed by 10 percent of the state’s real estate conveyance fees.
As long as large and not-so-large parcels are completely in the hands of private owners, there is no assurance the land will remain part of Maui’s most alluring attributes – open space. Buying the land with tax funds is prohibitively expensive. With the help of the Maui Coastal Land Trust and willing property owners, buying the development rights is the next best and possibly only way to preserve Maui’s legacy of land.
