CV05-00030 - David C. Farmer vs. Harmon

Hawaii real estate developer who has numerous financial connections with Kamehameha Schools and other parties connected to this case.

Founded in 1990 by Maui-born Stanford Carr, this locally-owned business is Hawaii’s most dynamic real estate development company.

The new interim manager of the Turtle Bay Resort has determined that further development at the controversial North Shore property is necessary to keep the operation viable.

Local developer Stanford Carr, installed last week by resort lenders to head operations and find a buyer, said expansion outside of the existing resort's footprint is an option, since a new owner would need to satisfy the conditions of a 1986 agreement that calls for public parks and other amenities to be built by a developer - who would need to recoup the investment.

"It's got to have economic equilibrium - they can't maintain a vast amount of land like that," said Carr, who was recruited by the property's lenders, including Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo, because of his expertise in the Hawaii real estate market. "Raw land is probably the worst investment, you can't depreciate it. You just don't have the economies of scale at the moment."

Due diligence, feasibility studies and quantifying the costs of public improvements must be completed before determining the scope of any expansion, he said.

The isolated character of Turtle Bay located on one of the island's last remaining rural coasts has been an attraction for visitors seeking a neighbor island-type of resort on Oahu.

"It's very pristine and so that has an attraction, but again you have to have the right execution of the product," he said. "Like anything, it's got to be responsible development."

His first priority is to meet with the community to gain an understanding of their concerns and also with local representatives of resort owner Oaktree Capital Management L.P. to resolve maintenance issues at the 858-acre property with money budgeted by lenders.

New York-based Eastdil Secured LLC is preparing material to begin marketing resort assets, possibly within the month, Carr said.

Eastdil ceased marketing when Credit Suisse filed a $283 million lawsuit last December against Oaktree's local entity, Kuilima Resort Co.

Meanwhile, Gov. Linda Lingle has been campaigning for the state to acquire the resort to protect it from plans to build an additional 3,500 hotel and condominium units on the property.

Carr, a Lingle supporter, hasn't seen a proposal from the state yet, but said his role doesn't mean a state acquisition will be easier.

There is a "mutual trust" because of the long relationship he has with the governor, but the decision ultimately lies with the owners and lenders, he said.

"The state is competing much like the rest of the other interested buyers," Carr said. "Everybody wants a win-win situation. I'm born and raised here, I'm fifth generation, I'm going to do the right thing."

NEW DISCOVERY (05-24-08): RE DAVID FARMER’S UNDISCLOSED CONFLICTING FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH LINDA LINGLE, STANFORD CARR, ALOHA AIRLINES, THE JAPAN-AMERICA SOCIETY OF HAWAII, etc.:

Local developer Stanford Carr has taken over management of the Turtle Bay Resort and the controversial plan to build five new hotels with 3,500 rooms and condominium units on O'ahu's North Shore.

He also will be in charge of securing new investors for the 848-acre property, whose redevelopment has sparked opposition from community groups and has prompted Gov. Linda Lingle to seek a state buyout to preserve the land.

"There's a lot of work to be done on the property and there's a lot of work to be done in communicating with the community," Carr said in a telephone interview yesterday.

Carr's appointment is part of an agreement by lenders Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo & Co. and Kuilima to restructure the development company's $400 million loan, which had been the subject of a foreclosure suit.

Under the terms of the restructuring, Oaktree exits from day-to-day management of Kuilima but retains ownership of a 470-acre agricultural property just mauka of the resort.

The 470-acre property does not include the site of the controversial redevelopment plan.

Nicola Jones, who is stepping down as Kuilima's chief executive officer, said in a news release that the resort and its golf courses will operate as usual and that the restructured loan will make it easier to attract new investors.

"We're very pleased that a settlement has been reached, as this now reopens the door to a wide range of prospective investors," said Jones.

Carr is owner of Stanford Carr Development LLC, one of the largest residential developers in the state.

He also is a longtime Lingle supporter and was part of a local team that invested in Aloha Airlines before it shut down two months ago.

Last year, the Lingle administration awarded an $11.5 million nonbid emergency contract to begin building transitional housing in Ma'ili to a company owned by Carr.

Rev. Bob Nakata, co-chair of the Defend O'ahu Coalition, which opposed the Turtle Bay expansion plan, said Carr's links to the Lingle administration may mean that he's "more susceptible to public pressure."

"He doesn't want a public relations disaster, because he has other business interests in town," said Nakata.

Oaktree, a $54 billion private investment firm, acquired Turtle Bay in 2000 and recently revived plans for a multibillion-dollar development that would include five new hotels and 3,500 hotel rooms and condos.

But the plan immediately ran into opposition from community leaders who want to retain the North Shore's rural way of life.

In December, Credit Suisse filed a foreclosure suit against the company after it defaulted on a $285 million loan.

Earlier this year, state lawmakers passed a Lingle-backed plan, in which the state would seek to acquire the undeveloped portions of the resort. Under the plan, the state would buy areas surrounding nearby Kawela Bay and Kahuku Point while a private investor would take over the hotel, the golf courses and other developed areas.

Ted Liu, director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, welcomed the management change, saying it adds clarity to the sales process. Neither Credit Suisse nor Wells Fargo has a local presence, making it difficult to negotiate a deal with all parties, said Liu.

"This presumably creates the type of certainty that makes it better for investors and buyers," said Liu.

Mike Fitzgerald
President & CEO
Enterprise Honolulu

Michael J. Fisch
Chair
President & Publisher
The Honolulu Advertiser

Allen B. Uyeda
Vice Chair
President & CEO
First Insurance Company of Hawaii

Bruce A. Coppa
Vice Chair
Senior Vice President
Communications Pacific

Donna B. Goth
Vice Chair
President
Aina Nui Corporation

Eric Yeaman
Treasurer
CFO & Treasurer
Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc.

Kitty Lagareta
Secretary
Chairman & CEO
Communications-Pacific Inc.

Paul Alston
President/Partner
Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing

Kirk Belsby
Vice President for Endowment
Kamehameha Schools

Jeff Bloom
President & CEO
CTA

Stanford S. Carr
President
Stanford Carr Development Corp.

Albert D. K. Chee, Jr.
Public Affairs Manager
Chevron Corporation

Patrick Ford
Managing Partner
KPMG LLP

Andrew D. Friedlander
Chief Executive Officer
Colliers Monroe Friedlander, Inc.

Blenn Fujimoto
Chief Financial Services Officer
Central Pacific Bank

Larry Fuller
President & Publisher
Pacific Business News

Vito Galati, Esq.
Attorney at Law
Cades Schutte

N. Robert Hale
Principal & Vice Chair
Architects Hawaii, Ltd.

George Kaluhiokalani
Managing Director
Merrill Lynch

David Koch
President
Starr Seigle Communications

Dew-Anne Langcaon
Executive Vice President
Hawaii Pacific Health

Gerry Majkut
General Manager
Dick Pacific Construction Co.

Geri Marullo
President & CEO
Child & Family Service

Joel K. Matsunaga
VP of External Affairs
Hawaiian Telecom

T. Michael May
President & CEO
Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc.

David S. McClain
President University of Hawaii System

David J. Reber
Attorney at Law
Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel

Myron Thompson, Jr.
President 21st Century Technologies

Roger J. Wall
Executive VP & CFO
Foodland Super Market, Ltd.

Developer Stanford Carr has gotten one step closer to moving into Kamilonui Valley -- home to 13 farming plots since the late 1960s.

According to a company letter distributed to the valley's farmers, Carr has reached an agreement with landowner Kamehameha Schools to negotiate the purchase of lots. The news has prompted Hawaii Kai residents opposed to the valley's development to call a meeting tomorrow, in hopes of coming up with a new strategy for fighting off Carr.

"There's a ways and means for this development to happen and that's what's frightening," said Elizabeth Reilly, president of Livable Hawaii Kai Hui, a group aimed at stemming development and congestion in east Honolulu.

The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. in the Mariner's Bay Club, which is at the intersection of Hawaii Kai Drive and Lunalilo Home Road.

Carr did not return a call for comment, but said in an Aug. 31 letter to Kamilonui farmers that the agreement with Kamehameha "was the result of three years of negotiations and it gives SCD (Stanford Carr Development) the exclusive rights to work on your behalf to apply for entitlements and to negotiate the fee simple purchase of the lots from Kamehameha Schools."

"We will sell to him ... if he can gain the approval of all the farmers in the valley to turn their lease interests over to him," said spokesman Kekoa Paulsen yesterday, adding that the proposal was brought to Kamehameha by the Kamilonui farmers' cooperative.

"We'll have an agreement if we get all the farmers to agree," Paulsen added. "If the farmers wish to continue to farming, then we have a lease with them and we'll continue to honor that lease."

Carr, who announced plans last year to build 200 homes in the valley's 83 acres, still faces several hurdles to developing in the valley.

First, he must obtain the leases for the farming lots, and Reilly said at least three farmers are adamant about staying. Also, the City Council would have to re-zone the valley residential, from agricultural, and ask for public comment.

Last year, the council unanimously passed a resolution that supports keeping development out of the valley -- at least in the short-term.

Reilly said her greatest fear is that all of the farmers will eventually sell. Right now, she said, "they're all divided and conquered."

But Lillie Wong, president of the valley's farming cooperative, contends they're just old and tired and ready to retire. "My farmers are dying faster than you can think," she said. "They can't even die and age in dignity."

Reilly said her organization is looking into the possibility of purchasing the property rights of the lots and keeping the valley in farming.

HAWAII KAI - Rows of vivid red and pink poinsettias fill the entrance to Dean Takabayashi’s farm in Kamilo Nui Valley.

Likewise, up the street rows of blossoming roses of all colors greet visitors at R&S Nii Nursery, roosters and chickens roam freely, pecking at the dirt.

This piece of country living is wedged in the back of suburbia and has been here for decades. Every day, customers ask if the farmers will be here next year.

They'd like to continue farming in the quiet valley in Hawai'i Kai as they have for the past 40 years or so, but their landowner, Kamehameha Schools, wants to sell the land.

There's no value in holding on to the land in agriculture, particularly since the 14 farmers are paying slightly more than $200 a year per acre in lease rent, the landowner has said. Their leases expire in 19 years.

Because Kamehameha Schools has entered into an agreement with local developer Stanford Carr Development, which has agreed to purchase the 87 acres and develop it, Kamehameha Schools is left waiting for Carr to make a move.

This is the last chunk of land that, until recently, residents thought would remain in agriculture and not be turned into homes.

Residents who want to see the land remain for farming have organized a meeting with the landowner, the community and the farmers for the second time in six months to discuss its plans for the land.

That meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Haha'ione Elementary School cafeteria.

In September, more than 100 people showed up at the community meeting to voice concerns.

Land use has become a murky issue, as half of the 14 farmers would like to stay and farm and the other half want to retire. The problem is that many of their leases begin renegotiating as early as next year, and banks do not like to make loans to prospective buyers with such unknowns as what the lease rent might be or whether the owner will demand the land back.

And without an agreement from the landowner to write a new lease, farmers don't know where to turn.

"If I stay," Takebayashi said, "I want to renegotiate the lease rent for something that is economically feasible. I'd like to stay and continue my business if the lease rent is reasonable. I can't do my business if it's not.

Kamehameha Schools has said that it won't negotiate with individual owners, but only the Kamilonui Valley Farmers Cooperative, an organization formed when the farmers first moved to the valley as a way to fund road, sewer and water improvements more than three decades ago.

"There is nothing new from Kamehameha Schools perspective," said Kekoa Paulsen, the landowners' spokesman. "The proposal (from Stanford Carr) is still out there. Stanford Carr is the one to make the deal happen."

Residents say the valley plays a vital role in preserving Hawai'i Kai's ecosystem. It is a watershed, a green belt. Mostly, it's the last valley in Hawai'i Kai to remain free of homes.

"Once it's gone, it's gone forever," said Tai Hong, a member of the Livable Hawai'i Kai Hui, a group formed to preserve open space in the community. "The land is very valuable now, but we want to strike a balance between preservation and development."

The land lies outside the city's designated area for development. Being outside the urban growth boundary and being designated as agriculture land, should offer protection, but rezoning has happened before on farm land in Hawai'i Kai. More than 1,000 new homes have been added to the community during this recent spate of development and is not reflected in current census figures that show there are 27,657 people. That's a 0.8 percent increase from 1990 to 2000.

City Councilman Charles Djou, who will be at Thursday's meeting, said that he believes the land should remain agricultural and not be developed. And while the community of farmers and residents have been discussing the future of the valley as if a proposal is before the city for a housing development, no plans have been submitted to the city for review, Djou said.

The process, should plans come forward, would take at least two years from re-zoning to the start of construction, he said.

"Kamilo Nui's future rests with the City Council," Djou said. "The zoning code is the law of the land and the law of the land says this parcel is designated as agriculture."

Those trying to keep the valley undeveloped and in agriculture believe they have to remain vigilant, despite Djou's promise of many public hearings. It happened before where a piece of agriculture land was carved out to make room for 65 homes built by Schuler Homes. That was nearly four years ago.

He sees it as home, the place where he was raised and where he has raised his children.

He has been in Kamilo Nui Valley since his dad's farm was moved from Mariner's Cove in the late 1960s to make room for a housing development. That was the family's second move because of a shift in land use.

"I've always known it would come to something like this," Nii said. "We want to continue farming. Many of our customers ask us if we're going to move or stay."

HONOLULU (AP) _ Kamehameha Schools is preparing to allow development of houses on 87 acres of farm land in Hawaii Kai.

The land trust says Stanford Carr Development needs to meet benchmarks listed in a contract before it can buy the lots.

The farm lots were leased to the Kamilonui Farmers Cooperative 30 years ago. Kamehameha says the land would likely be sold because farming is not bringing in enough revenue.

Kamehameha also says Kamilonui Valley farms aren't meeting five mandates of the trust's land holdings, including cultural, economic, environmental, educational and community capacity for Native Hawaiians.

Aloha Airlines has reached a new deal with its investors that soon could fly the carrier out of bankruptcy.

The company, whose emergence from bankruptcy was delayed last month by an appeal from the federal agency that guarantees pension plans, filed a motion yesterday seeking a hearing Tuesday before Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris on a restructured reorganization proposal.

A NEW BEGINNING

Key features of Aloha Airlines' modified reorganization plan:

» $43.25 million in cash from the Yucaipa Corporate Initiatives Fund I LP

» $16.8 million in cash and converted debt from the Aloha Aviation Investment Group

» $2.2 million from Aloha Hawaii Investors LLC, consisting of the Ing family partnership of Richard Ing and his sister, Louise Ing Sitch; Hawaii developer Stanford Carr; Duane Kurisu; and Colbert Matsumoto

» $750,000 from GMAC

» $35 million in exit debt financing

» $4.5 million in cost savings

Aloha also is asking for a waiver of the 10-day comment period if Faris approves the new plan....

David Banmiller, president and chief executive of Aloha, said in a statement yesterday that he hopes the modifications allow for a successful completion of Aloha's bankruptcy reorganization and the recapitalization of the company.

"The new equity investment clearly strengthens Aloha's financial position and has the added advantage of participation by new Hawaii investors," Banmiller said.

Aloha's new plan includes $43.25 million in cash from the Yucaipa Corporate Initiatives Fund I LP, headed by billionaire grocery magnate Ronald Burkle, and $16.8 million in cash and converted debt from Aloha Aviation Investment Group, led by former National Football League star Willie Gault. Yucaipa's cash investment is a $10 million increase from its previous proposal.

In addition, $2.2 million in cash is coming from a new group, Aloha Hawaii Investors LLC, which consists of the Ing family partnership of Richard Ing and his sister, attorney Louise Ing Sitch, both of whom are among the current owners of the airline; Hawaii developer Stanford Carr; Duane Kurisu, who has Hawaii commercial real estate and communications holdings; and Colbert Matsumoto, president of Island Holdings Inc., the parent company of Island Insurance.

Kurisu and Matsumoto are board members of Oahu Publications Inc., publisher of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and MidWeek....

GMAC, the finance arm of General Motors, also is putting in $750,000 in cash....

Included in the new cost savings are the elimination of a proposed $2 million note and $175,000 cash distribution to Aloha's unsecured creditors. The total amount of unsecured claims against the carrier is approximately $207 million, according to the motion, and it is uncertain how many cents on the dollar unsecured creditors will get. However, the motion said the recovery to unsecured creditors under the modified plan will be reduced by less than 1 percent from what creditors were going to receive under the previous plan. Under that plan, unsecured creditors were expected to receive less than 5 cents on the dollar.

The attorneys and advisers connected with the case also have agreed to reduce their fees collectively by $1 million.

Aloha said in its filing that all key constituents support the plan and that it must be approved expeditiously.

"If not," the motion said, "there is the distinct possibility that (Aloha) could run out of cash and would be forced to cease operating, rendering 3,500 residents of the state of Hawaii unemployed, and severely harming the state of Hawaii's passenger and cargo operations."

The new deal became necessary when investors Yucaipa and AAIG balked after Aloha failed to emerge from bankruptcy by a Dec. 15 deadline. Aloha's first reorganization plan was approved on Nov. 29.

Aloha, which filed for bankruptcy on Dec. 30, 2004, saw its goal of emerging from Chapter 11 in less than a year thwarted when the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. filed several last-minutes appeals last month. The agency and Aloha have since reached a tentative settlement, though details have not been disclosed.

Aloha blamed the PBGC's appeals and rising fuel prices for the need to restructure the deal.

"These cost increases make the original plan's capital and price structure unworkable," the motion said.

For years, Shigeki Nii fought alongside his farming neighbors to preserve Kamilonui Valley as an agricultural oasis amid east Oahu's growing population of condominiums and planned developments.

He does well, and his sons have already pledged to continue the family business. But on a recent overcast day, sitting in a golf cart loaded down with potted plants, Nii said that if a developer were to offer him a fair buyout, he'd take it right away.

All but three of the 13 farmers who lease land in the valley said they're seriously considering preliminary offers made recently by Stanford Carr Development.

Even the head of the valley's farming cooperative, who for more than a decade has been a staunch and vocal opponent of developing the area, said she's ready to give up and sell out.

Negotiations between the company and farmers are ongoing, and the plan is not without its hurdles.

All of the valley's tenants would have to agree to sell their leases to Stanford Carr before the developer could move on to buying the land from Kamehameha Schools, according to the landowner's spokesman.

And the Honolulu City Council would have to approve a zoning change for the valley, which is likely to be met with protests from opponents of more planned neighborhoods popping up in Hawaii Kai.

Officials with Stanford Carr, whose residences at the Peninsula project in Hawaii Kai have gone for more than $900,000, announced hopes earlier this year to build 200 homes in the valley's 83 acres. A spokesman for the development firm did not return phone calls seeking comment.

The farmers moved into the valley in the late 1960s. Their 55-year leases with landowner Kamehameha Schools run out in 2025, and require that some sort of agricultural work be done on the land.

Lillie Wong, president of the valley's farming cooperative and an original Kamilonui farm lots tenant, spoke out against developments getting too close to the valley as early as the late 1990s, but failed to get a considerable buffer zone between any new homes and the farm lots.

Now, developments nearly butt up against some properties and their residents complain about smelling fertilizer or pesticides, Wong said. She added that the cooperative recently took out a $1 million liability insurance policy to guard against lawsuits by homeowners who could sue, alleging their health was affected by farming chemicals.

Also, Wong added, most of the farmers are in their 70s or older and their children aren't interested in pursuing their parents' profession.

"The farmers are in a real predicament and dilemma," said the cooperative's attorney, Jim Stone. "They just feel that the timing is such that it's best that they look for a home and an opportunity that they can retire in."

But he stressed that there have been no formal deals made with Stanford Carr, and that each farmer is negotiating individually with the developer.

Katsumi Higa, the cooperative's secretary and treasurer, grows red beets and sweet corn on 6.9 acres of land in the valley.

Working in his garage Saturday afternoon, Higa's calves and feet were speckled with dirt from a morning in the field. He's been a farmer in east Oahu much of his life, and says he has seen Hawaii Kai transform from a mostly rural to a mostly urban community.

"This is the choice valley right now," he said. "If they (Stanford Carr) offer me something that I can afford to retire, I'll accept that."

The 81-year-old Nii agreed, saying that his sons could set up shop elsewhere. "We were against any development for a long time," Nii said. "But I think it's sooner or later that we will have to go."

Edwin Lau, Kamilonui's newest farmer, moved into the valley three years ago and has put in 300 mango, lychee and citrus trees. A few months ago, Lau said, Stanford Carr Development offered him an $800,000 home in exchange for his lease.

"Where else are you going to find a place like that (the valley)?" he asked. "It's a dream place."

Down the street from Lau, Thomas Yamabe has a variety of crops. A couple of years ago, he became one of only a few farmers in the state to grow vanilla.

Yamabe, also one of the valley's original tenants, said keeping the valley zoned for agricultural use is part of Hawaii Kai's development plan and vital to a healthy community.

"The agricultural area was not land that was set aside simply because they had no use for it," Yamabe said by phone from the mainland, where he is on vacation. "In the case of Hawaii Kai ... they did want to keep in agriculture as part of a total community development."

Dean Takebayashi, owner of Chrysanthemums of Hawaii, has been in the valley since 1999 and said he would prefer to keep his nursery in Kamilonui.

"But it is a business for me," he said, "so if the right offer came I obviously would have to take a look at it. If it makes sense to sell, we'll do so."

"We're supportive of the farmers staying in agricultural if they want to do that," said spokesman Kekoa Paulsen. "If the farmers decided that they wanted to take Mr. Carr up on his offer, we'd be supportive of that as well."

Paulsen said that if the valley's tenants allow Stanford Carr to buy their leasehold interests, Kamehameha Schools would then likely sell its 87 acres of farmland in the valley to the developer rather than continue to hold on to the property.

But there are dozens of people poised to stand against Stanford Carr if the company pursues its Kamilonui Valley proposal, according to Elizabeth Reilly, a founding member of the Livable Hawaii Kai Hui.

The hui was formed about two months ago in response to a spate of growing pains in east Oahu, ranging from traffic jams to sewer capacity.

Reilly, who wants to keep Kamilonui Valley as it is, said her group is looking for support from lawmakers in opposing conversion of the valley to residential use and even hopes to recruit young farmers who would be interested in taking over businesses from the valley's aging growers.

"It's not that we're so against development," Reilly said. "We're proactive and for protecting the urban boundary."

A developer wants to build 200 homes on 87 acres of land off Lunalilo Home Road, a proposal that would end more than half a century of farming in the former swamp land that is Hawaii Kai and bring large-scale construction to its last undeveloped valley.

Stanford Carr, the developer of the Peninsula, a 600-unit project under way on the edge of the marina, has approached area City Councilman Charles Djou, chairman of the council’s zoning committee, with a plan to move Kamilonui Valley’s 16 farmers to other communities to make way for his latest brainchild.

The proposal comes during a building boom the likes of which has not been seen in Hawaii Kai since Henry Kaiser first saw the area’s fish ponds and brackish water in the 1960s and envisioned a marina-based community. And it is generating concern about too much growth and its effect on traffic and sewer and water capacity.

“It’s just wrong to keep building,” said Murray Luther, a community activist and longtime resident of Hawaii Kai. “Let’s make sure we have the services available first, before we go building more. These guys (the developers) just are making their money and getting out.

Carr said the farmers approached him about three years ago about buying their leasehold interest, although apparently not all favor the idea....

He said he plans to study the capacity of the sewer, water and road systems before making a formal proposal for the 200 homes. The land is zoned for agriculture and would require a zoning change, subject to public hearings and City Council approval. Carr estimates he is two or three years away from building if he can get the necessary approvals....

Builders have been pounding away on roughly 800 new homes, townhomes and apartments in Hawaii Kai in the past three years. With the median home price climbing above $400,000, it’s a good time to build, developers say.

But with nearly all buildable land here in play, interest has turned to the quiet valley that has been home to farmers since industrialist Kaiser moved them there in the 1960s to make way for homes.

The growers of vegetables and potted plants belong to the Kamilonui Farmers Cooperative. Many are near retirement age, said Dean Takebayashi, owner of the nursery Chrysanthemums of Hawaii in the valley. Several had signed the first lease with landowner Kamehameha Schools. Rents are up for renegotiations in about six years.

“I have to hear a bit more about what the developer is offering,” Takebayashi said. “I’d prefer to stay here and continue doing what we’re doing. I enjoy farming.”

One issue of concern for some residents is the soil, which is unstable and tends to allow flooding in heavy rains, said farmer Gary Weller. In new homes being built now by Schuler near his farm, property owners had to sign a disclosure statement saying they were aware of the soil conditions and acknowledging farming operations nearby.

Life of the Land, an environmental and community action group, has been trying to keep land designated agricultural in the hands of farmers rather than developers.

Rather than turning farmland into residential land, city policy-makers should look at ways to rebuild in urban areas and preserve farmlands to support agricultural self-sufficiency, said Henry Curtis, the group’s executive director.

“I would hate to see Hawaii become wall-to-wall houses,” he said. “Agriculture land provides an open-space characteristic, and it provides a connection to the land for people who don’t farm themselves.”

Djou said he’s skeptical about additional development in Hawaii Kai, and the community could use a break from the sound of hammers and drills. Developer Carr told Djou he wanted to hear the community’s concerns and would attempt to address them.

“I realize there’s a market here; people are certainly willing to buy,” Djou said. “I just don’t know how far the developer will get.”

“Clearly, the community has changed from the way it was 50 years ago,” he added.

“But those farms provide a natural watershed from the heavy rains, so they don’t run off into the marina. If you put homes there, where will the water go?”...

As a 12-year-old, Stanford Carr learned his lesson about work ethic from planting zucchini on four acres of Maui’s upland country.

Now 42 and president of one of the largest, award-winning developers in Hawaii, he is applying those lessons to real estate development.

In farming, he said, external forces such as the weather, disease and price fluctuations were beyond a farmer’s control. In developing, interest rates, inflation and supply and demand also are at the whims of the economy.

But in both cases, one has to plan, put an infrastructure in place and work hard to raise something out of the ground....

Now Stanford Carr Development LLC is creating a master-planned community of 2,500 homes on 440 agriculture-zoned acres, along with parks and a commercial center at Wailuku in Central Maui. A combination of townhouses and single-family homes will range in price from $200,000 to $1 million to serve a broad socioeconomic spectrum.

The homes, considered affordable in contrast to the multimillion-dollar resort homes in Kapalua, were snatched up in a day....

The Maui development is Stanford Carr’s first master-planned community in its entirety that has a personal resonance for the native-born son of the Valley Isle. These homes are for the people who live in Maui, he said, at prices that are affordable....

The developer has done plenty of projects in the past in Kapolei and is transforming the face of Hawaii Kai with The Peninsula and the Colony at The Peninsula. On Maui, Kehalani will be the first project on such a large scale, extending from Waiale Road to Wailuku Heights at the base of the West Maui Mountains.

Not that the road has been easy the whole way. In 1999, Stanford Carr Development bought out the portfolio of C. Brewer & Co. and its stalled development – it was a publicly traded company delisted from the Nasdaq the year prior – for about $5 million, assuming an additional $20.5 million debt. He almost faced foreclosure in 2001, but was able to avoid it by refinancing and selling about 80 acres of land....

Stanford Carr broke ground on its newest Maui residential development, Olena at Kehalani, last September, with 32 single-family homes at prices ranging from $320,00 to $370,000. In two days of sales, 100 reservations were made and the project is already sold out....

In addition to the developments in Hawaii Kai, Stanford Carr Development has other projects – Mauna Lani, a resort community slated for groundbreaking on the Big Island next month, and Waikoloa Colony Villas.

When it comes to land use, the once-upon-a-time farmer says the preservation of prime agricultural lands is important – but that many are no longer being used for agricultural purposes. Developers need to be aware of land-use issues and develop responsibly, he says.

“We need to revisit what is really usable agriculture and where to preserve it,” he said.

“Whether or not to take agriculture land to urban is something society decides. One opportunity is different from another.”...

The state Campaign Spending Commission has approved more than $62,000 in fines against eight companies and individuals for making excessive political donations to major local Democratic candidates.

By 3-0 vote, the commission approved fines against the engineering and development firms of Fukunaga & Associates Inc., Fujita & Associates, W.A. Hirai & Associates Inc., AM Partners Inc., Stanford Carr Development Corp. and WMO Corp.

The commission also voted to issue a $750 fine to local real estate executive Joe Leoni and a $500 fine to isle attorney Mitchell Imanaka.

The largest penalty – $24,000 – went to Fukunaga & Associates for making more than $36,000 in false-name contributions to the campaigns of Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris and former Gov. Ben Cayetano.

The commission also fined W.A. Hirai $19,000 to settle charges that the company made $30,000 in excessive political donations to Harris, Cayetano, former Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono and ex-Maui Mayor James “Kimo” Apana.

Fujita & Associates agreed to an $11,000 fine for making false-name contributions to Cayetano, Harris, Apana and Hirono.

The commission was scheduled to approve a $53,000 penalty against the engineering firm of Edward K. Noda and Associates for allegedly laundering $90,000 in campaign funds to Harris, Cayetano and Hirono.

But that case was kept off yesterday’s agenda after commission staffers discovered additional illegal contributions, said Bob Watada, the commission’s executive director....

A large vacant chunk of an unfinished and long-awaited West Maui housing development near Wailuke is poised to change hands again.

Hawaii Land & Farming Co. has put roughly 470 acres of the Kehalani development site up for sale this week, according to real estate marketing firm Kennedy-Wilson International.

Hawaii Land & Farming is owned by a partnership controlled by Hawaii developer Stanford Carr....

Carr’s partnership Milwaukee Holdings LLC last year bought out Hawaii Land & Farming for about $4 million and the assumption of more than $20 million in debt.

At the time of the sale, Hawaii Land & Farming owned about 2,700 acres on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island.

Formerly called C. Brewer Homes Inc., Hawaii Land & Farming formed in 1993 as a publicly traded spin-off of privately held C. Brewer & Co. Kehalani began in 1994 as a 550-acre, 2,400-unit master planned community that soon stalled along with the state’s economy....

>> The newly elected president of the Honolulu Theatre for Youth board of trustees is Marcia E. Lee, a board member for the past six years and chair of HTY's Golf For Youth tournaments. Other officers for 2002-03 are vice presidents Stanford Carr and Tony Pisculli, secretary Kristine Altwies Nicholson, treasurerWallace G. K. Chin and past president Candice Naito.

New board members are Tim Bostock, whose production company brings musical and performing arts events to Hawaii; Wallace Chin, controller at Kamehameha Schools and treasurer and director of finance for Ke Alii Pauahi Foundation; Janet Henderson, theater supporter; Lorie Nagata, corporate treasurer at Hawaiian Electric Co.; and Mary Weisman, senior vice president for credit and risk management at Bank of Hawaii. Marcy Fleming, Laurel Bowers Husain and Lyn Zukerkorn have retired from the board.