If the Office of Hawaiian Affairs receives permission from the Legislature to develop housing on 31 acres it owns in Kaka ako makai of Ala Moana Boulevard, the agency will restrict such development to three or four parcels away from the waterfront along Kewalo Basin.

OHA made the pledge Thursday at a news conference aimed at clarifying its intent in seeking a bill allowing residential development on land it received in 2012 to settle disputed claims with the state over unpaid ceded-land revenue.

The agency also said it wouldn’t be focused on developing luxury condominiums that would be possible with such prime sites offering unobstructed ocean views, but would seek to do housing for seniors and young couples, possibly in connection with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

"We’re not about high-end development on the waterfront," said Kawika Burgess, OHA chief operating officer.

Peter Apo, an OHA trustee who chairs a group evaluating development of the agency’s land in the area known as Kaka ako Makai, added, "We are committed to shaping a place that local people, including Hawaiians, can be proud of."

Apo said no residential development would occur on five parcels that cover about 13 acres and front Kewalo Basin from the former Fisherman’s Wharf Restaurant to the tip of Kaka ako Waterfront Park next to the Point Panic bodysurfing site.

On this stretch of land, Apo said OHA supports a community vision for a public waterfront promenade. Some commercial development also would be possible under existing development rules.

OHA is looking at residential development on three other parcels — two fronting Ala Moana Boulevard and one fronting the ocean just beyond the waterfront park’s Ewa edge — Apo said.

For OHA’s single biggest parcel, a 7-acre lot shaped like a grand piano in the interior of Kaka ako Makai, development use is undecided.

This site is what Apo termed "touchy" given that it was the site of a former plan by local developer Alexander & Baldwin Inc. to build three condo towers in response to a request for proposals sought by the Hawaii Community Development Authority, a state agency that previously owned the land and supported residential use in Kaka ako Makai.

A&B’s plan drew significant public opposition even after it was scaled back to a pair of condo towers. In response the Legislature passed a law in 2006 prohibiting residential development anywhere in Kaka ako Makai.

Many opponents of A&B’s plan are expected to oppose the legislation sought by OHA.

OHA is asking lawmakers to amend the law and allow residential use on its Kaka ako land because it concluded that income from commercial development would fall short of what would typically be expected from land valued at about $200 million.

The state’s settlement with OHA included an appraisal by a state consultant valuing the land at $198 million, while an OHA appraiser valued the land at $193 million. This is a calculated value of what OHA could expect to receive if it sold the land.

However, a study commissioned by OHA last year that assessed the earning potential for the land concluded that achieving a market-rate annual income of $14 million to $16 million from $200 million of real estate isn’t possible with retail and other commercial development that would suffer from a lack of residents in the immediate area.

"Our initial planning clarifies that we cannot achieve that with the current land use restrictions," OHA said in a statement.

OHA’s study was produced by real estate and construction firm Rider Levett Bucknall Ltd., design firm Group 70 International and real estate consulting firm Sanford Murata Inc. The study evaluated a variety of mixed-use development that included parks, retail, office, hotel, industrial, rental housing and condos.

The agency stressed that it will seek to balance its revenue generation goal with cultural stewardship of its Kaka ako land and the intent to preserve public access to the waterfront.

As an organization with Native Hawaiian beneficiaries whose cultural sites and practices have often been desecrated and ignored, OHA said it would expect those beneficiaries to be the first ones to rise up in protest if OHA inappropriately develops its land.

Ernie Cruz Jr., a Hawaiian musician who bodysurfs at Point Panic, said he trusts OHA to devise acceptable development plans. "I just want our people — Hawaiians — to be treated fair," he said.

OHA said that if it can obtain permission for residential development, then it would move ahead with creating a master plan with specifics that could take 18 months.

Two bills that would allow residential development on OHA’s Kaka ako land are pending. One, House Bill 2554, is scheduled for an initial hearing Saturday at 9 a.m. by two House committees. A companion bill, Senate Bill 3122, is scheduled for its first hearing Wednesday at 1:15 p.m. by two Senate committees.