A multimillion-dollar settlement that clears the way for the controversial Hokuli'a development on the Big Island makes the best of a bad situation. But it's far from a victory for good planning.

County and state planners must recognize the need for sensible planning rules that are consistently enforced; it's time to put an end to hopscotch and ad-hoc planning and development.

Developers of Hokuli'a began selling house lots for their luxury project with the understandable assumption that everything was in order. Indeed, the county had issued the necessary permits.

But then Circuit Judge Ronald Ibarra ruled that all construction must stop until the project — on agriculturally designated land — received an urban designation from the state Land Use Commission.

What Ibarra effectively said was that the wink-and-a-nod system of allowing luxury homesites on ag land (often referred to as "gentleman farms") had to stop.

And he's right.

The settlement, which Ibarra has approved, offers a rich package of community benefits in exchange for allowing the project to proceed. These include a bypass road, beach access, community services and a reduction in the "footprint" of the project.

That's all good. But it should hardly add up to precedent. Planning should not be dictated by who offers up the fattest deal to the surrounding community.

Land use planning must subscribe to overarching principles including a community's capacity for growth, availability of infrastructure, and a sensible development plan that takes a long view.

And in Hawai'i, there must also be a strong commitment to the importance of open space and mountain and ocean access.

The state's "agricultural" land classification, which has been used not just to preserve active agriculture but to protect land from development, has been a pressure point for years. Much of that land, such as the site planned for Hokuli'a, was designated agricultural but was not in active agricultural use.

The state is finally getting around to a new system of land classification that would identify some lands as high-value ag, protected forever from development while other lower-value lands could be more easily developed. This strikes a more sensible balance and brings much-needed clarity to the situation.

But the overall principles of land use in Hawai'i must still apply. That's the lesson Hokuli'a has so painfully taught us.