Editorial: Dillingham Ranch on block

The Dillingham Ranch in Mokuleia, a jewel on Oahu’s North Shore, has a long and storied history. Established in 1897, the bucolic ranch evolved into a getaway for the Dillingham family and their guests. Prince Charles and Gen. George S. Patton played polo there. Noel Coward wrote his iconic love song, “A Room With A View,” while sitting on the lanai.

Now the ranch is simply a real estate investment, bought and sold several times since 1979. The current owner, Kennedy Wilson Inc., wants to sell it for $52 million, twice what it paid in 2006. Kennedy Wilson hopes its proposal to subdivide the property into 70 house lots, with “farm dwellings” to support agricultural activities, justifies the higher price, especially since the city Department of Planning and Permitting seems inclined to allow such a project to proceed.

Some North Shore residents are rightfully wary. The lots could become multi-million-dollar estates with a few fruit trees, an exclusive luxury development with little agricultural output on land zoned for agricultural use.

There’s also the possibility that a new owner would try to alter Kennedy Wilson’s plan to intensify development and make more money; a previous owner tried to build a hotel and two golf courses. Kennedy Wilson says its plan would make agriculture more viable and prevent less desirable development.

Whoever buys the property will have to contend with skeptical neighbors and a general hostility toward developers who want to build on beautiful, relatively unspoiled land from mountains to shining sea.

The desire to keep the country country is a powerful one.