Any development in Waimea Valley — the possible outcome of continuing talks between the city and a private owner — would violate a master-plan agreement designed to preserve the area's unique character, North Shore residents say.

On Wednesday, the City Council will consider a preliminary agreement to split Waimea Valley between the city and New York investor Christian Wolffer. Details of the proposed agreement are secret. Wolffer's attorney and spokesperson, William McCorriston, could not be reached for comment last week.

Wolffer acquired the 1,875-acre valley in 1996 and vowed to preserve the land, which is zoned as conservation land. But when he tried to sell it in 2000 as a private residential property, the community took action, and the city initiated condemnation procedures, putting $5.1 million in escrow to buy it.

Following months of meetings and hundreds of hours of effort, residents hashed out a "save the valley" concept in 2001 that, among other things, expressly concluded that the building of "eco-cabins" or commercial real estate in the valley was unacceptable.

"The community came up with a Waimea Valley Master Plan, which the city said it was committed to follow," said Antya Miller, executive director of the North Shore Chamber of Commerce. "If they renege on that, the community is going to be very upset."

If the city reneges, it would constitute a double betrayal, as far as Miller is concerned.

"Velzyland, an area along Sunset Beach, was slated in the North Shore Sustainable Communities Plan to be a city and county beach park," she said.

"But when the Waimea Valley thing came up, the city told us it wouldn't be able to purchase both Velzyland and Waimea Valley. So they let Velzyland go."

Today, that property features luxury homes and a wall that folks complain blocks the ocean view.

NORTH SHORE IN ACCORD

The thought of something similar sprouting up inside Waimea Valley chills the spines of many on the North Shore.

"I completely support the community master plan," said City Council Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz, who represents the North Shore and was one of four council members who voted against the preliminary approval on Nov. 21.

Dela Cruz said last week he hasn't changed his mind on the subject.

"This is one of the few issues everybody on the North Shore agrees on," said John Moore, a member of the North Shore Neighborhood Board and owner of the Strong Current surf shop. "They don't want to see the valley broken up."

Kathleen Pahinui, chairwoman of the North Shore Neighborhood Board, said she has yet to meet a person who finds the idea anything but unthinkable.

"Nobody — not anybody — thinks it's a great idea," she said. "Waimea Valley is too historically important. I mean, I have friends who can trace their ancestry back to Hewahewa (spiritual adviser to King Kamehameha the Great)."

House majority whip Michael Magaoay, D-46th (Kahuku, North Shore, Schofield) agreed with others who have suggested the city and state could work together to resolve the issue in a way that's acceptable to the public.

"The people of the North Shore and the Hawaiian people have spoken, and they are very concerned," he said. "And they don't want this land to be developed."

Magaoay joined the chorus of people who have said that until details of the settlement are known, a course of action is difficult to figure.

It's also tough to calculate the land's value. Some, including Wolffer, contend the land is worth far more than the city's assessed condemnation value of $5.1 million.

But others say since the land has limited use under conservation zoning, its value could be less than that assessed by the city.

And even if a settlement is reached between Wolffer and the city, Wolffer would need both city and state permits to alter or develop the property, Magaoay said.

"This is how the public has the power to express support or opposition to any development that might be planned for the valley," he said.

On Friday, national Audubon Society president John Flicker arrived in Honolulu to discuss the valley situation with attorneys representing the Waimea Valley Audubon Center.

CARETAKER CONCERNED

One person who stands to be directly affected by the outcome of the settlement is Randy Hoopai. Hoopai rents a plantation-style house built in the early 1900s that sits near the Waimea Valley Audubon Center, which manages the property on a month-to-month basis as part of a 30-year lease agreement with the city.

Today, Hoopai, his wife and four children are the only people who actually live in the valley — the last Hawaiian residents on land previously occupied by 40 generations of kahuna nui, or Hawaiian religious elite.

"I love this valley," said Hoopai, 43, an Audubon maintenance manager who has worked in the valley for nearly a quarter of a century. "I'm ma'a with it. I live here. I make my livelihood here. I know the whole valley, in and out."

Hoopai says he's powerless to alter the valley's fate. He only knows he and his family want to stay.

SACRED GROUND

Much of the valley's lower 300 acres — those that would go to the city under the settlement agreement — have been surveyed and are marked by ancient sites, including burial caves, heiau and fishing shrines.

However, none of the 1,575 acres that would go to Wolffer under the agreement have been surveyed.

Edward Halealoha Ayau, executive director of Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai'i Nei, a group dedicated to the proper treatment of Native Hawaiian burial sites, described Waimea Valley as important as Hawaiian cultural locations get.

"One of the things that needs to happen is the surveying of the rest of the valley to identify the wahi kupuna (ancestral places)," he said.

"Regardless of who the landowners are, they are subject to the state laws that address the identification and proper treatment of unmarked Hawaiian burial sites."

Considering the number of unknown ancestral remains that might be in the valley, Ayau promised that if development does happen in the valley, Hui Malama will make certain those procedures are strictly and painstakingly followed.

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.