A North Shore produce farm intends to become the first "urban farm" tenant in a community that developer D.R. Horton hopes to build in Ewa on some of Oahu’s best farmland.
Ho Farms, which grows specialty tomatoes and other vegetables on 40 acres in Kahuku, has signed a letter of intent to lease 18 acres on the Ewa site proposed for the 11,750-home community called Ho‘opili.
Horton’s local Schuler division said the tentative deal, which is expected to put Ho Farms on the land this year, shows that its idea to integrate 159 acres of commercial farms within Ho‘opili’s 1,554 acres is a realistic concept.
"We’re certainly serious about this plan," said Cameron Nekota, a Schuler vice president overseeing Ho‘opili. "We’re excited about this opportunity."
Schuler’s announcement comes in the midst of state Land Use Commission hearings considering whether the site, which is almost entirely farmed, should be approved for urban development.
The developer failed to obtain such approval in 2009, and last year introduced an amended plan that reserves 16 percent of the property, or 251 acres, for farm activity.
Schuler said it would provide 159 acres for commercial farms, 84 acres for home gardens and eight acres for community gardens.
Commission hearings began in October and continue Thursday and Friday.
Ho‘opili critics, which include the Sierra Club, oppose Schuler’s plan generally because they argue more housing will increase traffic congestion, eliminate green space and reduce the ability for the state to become more self-sufficient and secure in food production.
Project opponents have derided the urban farm idea as a ploy with no real commitment or little chance of being realized to any significant degree. They also contend that the land Schuler is designating for farming isn’t much and includes gulches that are the least viable pieces of the Ho‘opili site.
Opponents including Eric Seitz, an attorney representing state Sen. Clayton Hee, and Makakilo resident Kioni Dudley have called the urban agriculture plan a fantasy.
Yet the developer has received endorsements from the state Department of Agriculture and the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation.
The two largest commercial farms leasing Ho‘opili land from Schuler, Aloun Farms and Larry Jefts Farms (also known as Sugarland Farms), have submitted letters of support to the commission, saying they have replacement land to move operations as they are displaced over 20 years.
Ho‘opili opponents discount the positions of Aloun and Jefts because their leases require them to support urban development on the site — a condition agreed to when prior landowner Campbell Estate provided the land at below-market rent as an interim use until long-envisioned urban development occurred.
Schuler consultant Bruce Plasch testified in November that plenty of land is available for farmers to improve Hawaii’s self-sufficiency in produce and other fresh food. "Land is not the limiting factor to the growth of diversified agriculture," he said.
That position is supported by what Aloun and Jefts have said, but not Ho Farms.
Ho Farms was established in Kahuku in 1991 and has expanded from an initial 28 acres. But none of its land involves a lease longer than five years, while some is on a year-to-year term.
Neil Ho, who with his sister, Shin, is trying to position the farm started by their parents for their future, said he spent the last four years looking for land with a long-term lease, water and affordable rent.
"It’s not easy," he said, explaining that the only landowners he found on Oahu with suitable property willing to commit to a long-term lease wanted exorbitant rent.
"They want to lease it out at a ridiculous rate like I’m growing marijuana," he said.
Schuler is offering Ho Farms a lease that runs multiple decades. Nekota didn’t say how much rent Schuler is seeking, but that it will be below market because the farm sites eventually will be owned by a nonprofit association.
"We’re going to give them certainty for farming land," he said.
Ho said the move will allow his family’s farm to invest more in greenhouses that help improve crop consistency. The greenhouses can be located in a valley on the Ewa site that Ho‘opili opponents have said is no good for farming. Ho also said the farm, which grows several crops including squash, long beans, okra and eggplant, will be able to further diversify.
The 18-acre site is the largest parcel intended for commercial farm use that isn’t presently farmed. About 60 percent of the 159 acres is presently farmed, Nekota said.
