The islands’ transition from its mega-plantation days to the hoped-for next stage — diversified agriculture — has been a slow one. The last sugar company in the state, Hawaii Commercial & Sugar Co. on Maui, closed six years ago. Most of the once-massive pineapple production has been moved elsewhere since the 1980s.
Some of the families who once worked those fields, as well as others who arrived in Hawaii more recently, would like to continue farming but find it economically a steep climb. Long-term leases for land are hard to come by, making long-term business planning difficult.
And those who prefer a small-scale or family operation told real estate developer Peter Savio that it’s tough to get financing to purchase land for agriculture.
That is a barrier the state should work to overcome. It’s also the reason for Savio’s recent efforts to establish “agricultural condominium” projects to enable fee-simple farmland ownership, along with the prospect of owning a house in a cluster near the farm lots.
This concept deserves serious consideration and careful review — regulating activities in agribusiness developments has raised conflict in the past. The plan will go before the Honolulu City Council, probably not until late this year, Savio said.
Notably, the idea still is in its formative phase. City approval is needed for the planned unit development permit required to build the subdivision of modest homes.
The result would be something akin to the plantation-camp communities of the old days: 5,000 square-foot house lots, clustered a short distance from the agricultural parcels the owners would farm.
Savio’s most recent pitch was made Sunday to a group of about 100 prospective farmers who would buy into Orchard Plantation, comprising 118 acres in Waialua along Kamehameha Highway, Cane Haul and Helemano roads. It’s part of 155 acres Savio said he is buying from Dole Food Co.
This would be the fourth such agricultural condominium Savio has pursued: 300 acres adjacent to Dole Plantation north of Wahiawa, and 120-lot and 60-lot projects, also in Waialua.
Savio said he may eliminate the original minimum 2-acre purchase, aiming for a farm parcel price at $130,000 per acre, what he expects to pay Dole.
Once the farm lots are sold and the owners form a condominium association, Savio said he would present all four projects to the Council as separate planned unit developments. The application would seek exemptions such as allowances for more densely configured house lots, simple “country” roads and septic tanks to reduce sewer costs.
If approved, the owners would be able to pay in about an additional $100,000-$150,00 for the home lot and shared condo expenses, he said. But that is not a done deal: Savio said he’s made it clear to buyers of the orchard lots that they are currently buying the farmland only.
The sales agreement will stipulate that the lots can be resold, he said, but the resale value would be restricted to what’s affordable to the median income of the surrounding community. Renting out the home would be allowed, but the farming production would have to be maintained: This is not designed for the investor who hopes to “flip” it for a sizeable profit, Savio said.
The experience at Kunia Loa Ridge Farmlands, though, comes to mind: Some five years ago, regulatory gaps there allowed illicit structures to spring up.
To avert similar problems, the imperative will be to set up associations with clear authority to enforce the rules. If those are in place, the notion of farm developments that nurture a small-scale or family sector could be part of Oahu’s agricultural revival.
