Rail officials have advanced the condemnation of one family’s industrially zoned property in Kalihi, an action they say is necessary to complete the nearly $10 billion rail project as designed.
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s board of directors voted Thursday to approve Resolution 4, which notifies the City Council of the rail agency’s intent to seize by eminent domain the property at 1829 Dillingham Blvd., despite its owners’ objections. The board’s vote follows an April 13 recommendation by HART’s Government Affairs-Legal Matters Committee to pursue this action.
The City Council now has 45 days to approve or object to the condemnation by adoption of a resolution of the notification to acquire the property, according to HART. Upon either approval or no action by the Council, the board of directors will be requested to approve a resolution authorizing the acquisition of the property by eminent domain.
Owned by the Takara family, the 7,855-square-foot parcel, at the southeast corner of Mokauea Street, is also home to Service Printers Hawaii Inc., a commercial printer in business since 1964. The full property’s total assessed value is about $2.9 million, according to the city’s Real Property Assessment Division.
Walter Takara, one of the owner’s sons, objected to HART’s effort to take his family’s property.
“Reason No. 1, this property has been in our family for three generations with a very rare, fortunate case of having just one tenant for 43 years in Service Printers Inc.,” Takara told the agency’s committee April 13. “Throughout these years we have built a great relationship, and Service Printers has proved to be an outstanding business member serving the greater Kalihi community and customers islandwide.”
Takara said Service Printers employs 30 and has “a multitude” of vendors. “However, their future is currently unknown at best,” he added.
Previously, rail staff laid out HART’s planned eminent domain after the agency said it had sought a financial agreement with the Takara family since 2014.
In that year, HART said, it presented an acquisition offer to the property’s named owner — Jennine Hatsue Takara — for the parcel’s full acquisition. That offer, however, was rejected.
Subsequently, a partial acquisition was pursued whereby the rail agency would acquire a portion of the property. A portion of the adjacent property would be sold to the owner to replace lost parking and office space, HART says.
Over the years, the agency said, it negotiated terms of the partial acquisition with the owner.
But in 2020, HART asserted, the owner asked it to explore the possibility of purchasing the full property. HART reports state the “full fee acquisition was determined to be necessary to meet the needs of the project.”
In 2022, HART said, the Federal Transit Administration provided environmental clearance to acquire the full property, and by December a written offer was again provided to the owner.
“The owner was given a reasonable time to consider the offer,” HART reports state. “To date the owner has not provided a response or counter-offer to HART. In order to adhere to the project construction schedule, it is necessary to refer the property to condemnation.”
Meantime, HART officials claimed efforts would be made to continue negotiations with the owner even as it recommended Resolution 4’s approval.
At the prior meeting, Walter Takara said an agreeable solution to all parties had once been on the table.
That agreement, he said, would see HART acquire only a piece of his family’s land — along the frontage of the building facing Dillingham Boulevard, which would then be demolished. HART was to then sell to his family “a similar-sized, empty, undeveloped dirt lot” adjacent to their property on the Diamond Head side — owned by HART — to replace the lost square footage on Dillingham Boulevard, Takara said.
That plan, he added, would see HART build new office spaces on the empty lot as well as maintain “a perpetual driveway easement” to the new office’s parking lot.
“A more than fair plan to replace and build what was taken,” Takara told the committee April 13.
To that, board member Michele Chun Brunngraber said she was led to believe the Takara family agreed to sell the whole property to HART in 2020.
In response, Takara said, “That was not the case. Our position has been steadfast. … That’s why I’m here today, to make sure our voices are heard … and preserve Service Printers going forward.”
But Nate Meddings, the rail project’s director, said any further delay in acquiring this property would increase the rail project’s expenses, as currently designed. He added such delays to the entire project amount to $10 million to $12 million per month in overhead costs.
Although Takara eventually said his family would continue to talk with HART, the committee voted to recommend Resolution 4.
On Thursday, Takara did not appear at the board of directors meeting to speak on this matter.
And prior to the board’s own vote, board Chair Colleen Hanabusa asserted that Resolution 4 did not clearly state HART would continue negotiations toward an agreement with the Takara family while the agency sought condemnation of the family’s property.
“Because the reason is when you just simply say, ‘We want you to negotiate,’ what does that mean? … That means you could make one call between now and when it hits City Council, and that would be ‘continuing to negotiate,’” Hanabusa said.
To that, board member Roger Morton offered a “friendly amendment” to Resolution 4 stating that “HART continue its efforts to negotiate a settlement with the parties.”
