The Hawaii County Council is trying to settle a lawsuit over a 15-year-old Planning Department error by buying the disputed land.
After an hour-long closed session on Friday, the council voted 9-0 in favor of Bill 70, to put an extra $1 million in the county budget to purchase two 5.6 acre oceanfront lots along Government Beach Road in Hawaiian Paradise Park.
The two parcels together are valued at about $800,000, according to county staff.
At issue was the creation of the two lots by combining a mauka lot in the agricultural zone with one makai in the conservation district, and then splitting the parcel lengthwise. The county created the combined lots in 1999 without approval by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources, under then county Planning Director Virginia Goldstein.
The owner of one of the lots, Steven Lee Fineberg, filed suit on June 5, charging negligence and a regulatory taking of his property because the county “breached its duty to administer the county’s subdivision ordinances,” according to the complaint.
It’s not known if purchasing the property will put an end to the lawsuit. The council is also mulling a settlement agreement.
“We appreciate the County Council’s efforts and we’re discussing it with our client,” Robert Triantos, an attorney in Carlsmith Ball LLP’s Kona office, said Monday.
The council had previously voted to purchase one of the parcels with Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Commission, or PONC, funds. But the PONC commission objected, saying it had the responsibility to rank property purchased with the county public land set-aside money. The Gapp property, as it is known, was ranked 12th by the commission in its most recent report, earning 101 of a possible 288 points.
Once Bill 70 gets one more affirmative vote by the council on second reading, it will for all intents and purposes nullify the PONC purchase resolution.
Puna Councilman Greggor Ilagan, speaking in favor of using the PONC fund last year, said the site’s 67 archaeological features include four Native Hawaiian burial grounds, including a pre-Western contact burial platform.
Deputy Corporation Counsel William Brilhante, who is handling the case, said the property has become more desirable for recreation now that the county has improved Government Beach Road. He said he recently walked the property, and found six tidal pools.
“What a great opportunity to pick up the property for this under-served area,” Brilhante said Monday.