Bill proposes trading land at rail station for acreage held by Dole

In a creative land swap, the state would trade about 925 acres near the planned East Kapo­lei rail station to Castle & Cooke for redevelopment in return for some 20,000 acres of Dole Food Co. land between Wahiawa and the North Shore that would be preserved for agriculture and conservation.

State Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, who is proposing the land exchange, contends it would help achieve the transit-oriented development necessary for the success of the Hono­lulu rail project and advance the state’s interest in protecting agriculture and open space from urban encroachment.

The Abercrombie administration has separately been working with the Trust for Public Land and a renewable energy developer on a more conventional $175 million purchase of the Dole land. The state had worked with public and private interests in December 2012 to acquire more than 1,700 acres of nearby Galbraith Estate land.

Saving beachfront property near Kawela Bay and Kahuku Point from development by Turtle Bay Resort has captured the hearts of the past two governors and the North Shore conservation movement. But the Dole land is far larger in acreage and potentially far more important to preserving agriculture and preventing urban sprawl.

“If the state doesn’t take an active role in making sure that it stays in conservation, we could be at risk of it being piecemealed out to private developers or private landowners,” said Dela Cruz (D, Wheeler-Wahiawa-Schofield), chairman of the Senate Economic Development, Government Operations and Housing Committee.

Garret Matsunami, director of engineering and site construction at Castle & Cooke, which shares the same owner — billionaire David Murdock — as Dole Food Co., said he is still reviewing a draft of Dela Cruz’s bill proposing the swap.

“We’re definitely looking forward to seeing how this goes,” he said.

Dela Cruz’s bill would establish an East Kapo­lei Community Development District, which could help ease redevelopment around the planned rail station if the roughly 925 acres of state land is acquired by Castle & Cooke. The East Kapo­lei station is the first along the 20-mile rail line to Ala Moana Center and is in the heart of a region already primed for development.

The bill would also create a Whitmore Project special fund that would hold the proceeds of revenue bond sales that might be used to help purchase the Dole land. The value of the state land around the East Kapo­lei rail station might not be enough to match the Dole land, so the state could use revenue bonds to help finance the acquisition.

The state budget already contains an authorization for $175 million in revenue bonds to potentially purchase the Dole land, but the bonds are in limbo after a squabble last year between Dela Cruz and state Rep. Jessica Wooley (D, Kaha­luu-Ahui­manu-Kaneohe), chairwoman of the House Agriculture Committee, prevented the creation of a fund to handle the bond money.

State Rep. Sylvia Luke (D, Punchbowl-Pauoa-Nuu­anu), chairwoman of the House Finance Committee, who spoke with Dela Cruz about his bill Friday, said the state needs to take a more proactive role in identifying state land near all of the planned rail stations for potential redevelopment.

Luke said she would prefer an overall plan involving discussions with the city, community groups and residents, rather than dealing with just one or two rail stations.

“It needs to be a long view because this is something that’s going to impact planning for the next decade,” she said.

Blake Oshiro, Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s deputy chief of staff, said the governor’s supplemental budget request asks lawmakers for $40 million in bond money to acquire prime agricultural land and $10 million in bond money to purchase conservation land in Central Oahu and the North Shore area.

The Trust for Public Land has said it is working with the state and a renewable energy developer on the purchase of the Dole land over the next three to five years.

According to one presentation by the trust, about 6,000 acres could be leased for farming and ranching, and about 9,000 acres could be managed for recreation, hiking, hunting and watershed and species protection. The renewable energy developer, according to the trust, would use a portion of one parcel for a large solar energy project.

The trust has warned that the Dole land, which is near the urban growth boundary, “is the next logical target for development.”

“This is really keeping the country country,” Lea Hong, state director of the Trust for Public Land, said of the conservation effort.