Editorial: Snail’s pace for DHHL deals

For all the power, and money, that come with land in Hawaii, it takes an intolerably long time to seal some important land deals.

Two examples have surfaced recently, both involving swaps of Department of Hawaiian Home Lands parcels. Star-Advertiser writer Rob Perez reported on a pending exchange of a 56-acre DHHL site in Waipahu for about 50 acres of city-owned land in Kapolei. The city is already using the Waipahu site for the rail project, while DHHL sought the “Varona Village site” next to its East Kapolei master-planned community for future development.

This swap goes back to 2006 — but the transaction remains incomplete, partly because appraisals haven’t been done to seek approval from the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees DHHL’s trust lands. Adding to the complexity: the residential-zoned Waipahu site was once assessed at $21 million-plus, while the agricultural-zoned Varona acreage was valued at under $5 million.

The unequal values have some DHHL beneficiaries, understandably, crying foul. Still, the rail serves an overriding public purpose, while the Varona parcel does hold potential for development — much-needed housing — where DHHL is already investing in infrastructure. At any rate, getting transaction papers before the DOI for approval — or financial squaring — should proceed without further ado.

That also applies to a DHHL parcel at the base of Mauna Kea, where the state has an access road. That unfinished deal dates back to 1995, when it was agreed that the state would take ownership of the DHHL parcel in exchange for another site; terms are now being reviewed. Overdue would be an understatement.