The City Council Budget Committee deferred action Monday on a resolution to approve the sale of city land in Haleiwa after opponents and supporters raised questions.

Council Chairman Ernest Martin, who represents Haleiwa, said he received many emails about the sale process. Martin introduced the resolution at the request of Mayor Peter Carlisle.

Part of the reason for the deferral was an amendment to the resolution, he said. Martin added a clause to the resolution that the Council wants proceeds of the sale to be used to acquire property for a park or recreational purposes on the North Shore.

"I wanted absolute assurance that proceeds from the sale would go toward benefitting the community," Martin said. "There were questions raised whether the City Council would be able to impose that on the administration."

Limiting the auction to two bidders, Kamehameha Schools and developer D.G. "Andy" Anderson, and the value of the parcels were other issues raised by the community.

Bidding on the eight parcels near Jameson’s by the Sea and adjacent to Loko Ea fishpond would start at $300,000. The mayor’s office recommended a bid process between adjacent landowners Kamehameha Schools and Anderson, both of whom have expressed interest in acquiring the land.

Kamehameha Schools wants to use the site as a cultural park; Anderson wants to build an 80-room boutique hotel.

Whoever wins the bid would be required to develop a portion of the property as a park and turn it over to a nonprofit entity to maintain it for the benefit of the public.

Martin said the possible sale of the parcels is a sensitive matter, saying it’s premature to take action on the resolution.

Budget Committee Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi announced the deferral at the beginning of Monday’s hearing, but gave people the opportunity to testify.

Many testified against the measure and asked the Budget Committee to keep the land for the public. Susan Cortez said it’s important to preserve it as public land, as it is used extensively by canoe clubs, standup paddlers and kayakers.

Natalie Iwasa thanked the committee for deferring the resolution. "This measure is an insult to taxpayers. The $300,000 starting bid price is obscenely low. It’s an insult to the community that currently uses this as a park," she said.

The prospect of the public getting only a portion of the 3.4-acre property as a park is an insult, she added. Some in the committee room applauded after her testimony.