Title issues complicate Maui County’s planned purchase of 82 acres near Pa‘uwela Lighthouse

When Nara Boone was growing up in Ha‘ikū, she and the other neighborhood kids rode their bikes through the pineapple fields near the Paʻuwela Lighthouse, stashed them in the bushes and scaled down the cliffs to swim in the tidepools.

“It was the best childhood experience,” Boone said. “And I don’t feel like my kids ever got that because that whole area has kind of been inaccessible to the community.” 

So when 82 oceanfront acres near the lighthouse went up for sale on Jan. 24, 2024, for $3.5 million, Boone and many others in the North Shore community were eager to see Maui County buy it before another private landowner could scoop it up.

The listing boasts “a rare opportunity for off-grid living with extraordinary views of the ocean,” just a few minutes’ drive from Ha‘ikū town, Ho‘okipa Beach Park and Pāʻia. 

Community members told the Maui County Council during budget talks in April last year that the road to the lighthouse has long been used for shoreline access. The council agreed it was important to buy the property, located across from the Ha‘ikū Community Center, and put the full $3.5 million asking price into the open space fund for the fiscal year 2025 budget, which ends June 30.

But Compass real estate agent Dave Futch, the listing agent for the property, said the county did not contact him about the property until last week, shortly after the price dropped by $1 million on Feb. 3. A major reason of why it hasn’t sold yet is because there’s a break in the chain of the title, Futch explained. 

“That’s complicated and it’s expensive and takes a long time to cure, and the seller can’t guarantee that it’ll ever be cured,” Futch said. “So a buyer can’t get financing because it doesn’t have title insurance.” 

The problem lies with a conveyance that apparently was not recorded, Futch said. However, no one is currently laying a claim to the title. He said a buyer would have to hire attorneys to look into and address the issue, which could take years. 

According to Maui County property tax records, the current owner of the land is Honolulu-based Wainaku Jik LLC, whose agent on state business records is listed as Harry Jong.

Since the listing price dropped, three potential buyers other than the county have expressed interest, according to Futch.

But Futch said the seller prefers to sell to the county to keep the land open space. 

“The seller is not profit motivated,” Futch added. “He has the interest of the community in mind when he says I would prefer the county have it.”

Maui County spokesperson Laksmi Abraham confirmed that “the County is actively pursuing the acquisition” of the land. She said the county recognizes the importance to the Ha‘ikū community and has been talking with the seller’s agent since February “to explore options for securing this land.”

“Our administration remains committed to preserving cultural and natural resources through open space protection, ensuring that lands with environmental, historical, and community significance remain accessible for future generations,” Abraham said in a statement to the Hawai‘i Journalism Initiative on Thursday.

Community members who’ve pushed for the purchase say they worry about another luxury development squeezing out locals.

However, Futch pointed out the title issues, stringent county regulations and lack of a water meter would make it difficult for a developer to turn it around for a quick profit.

“It’s not going to be easy. It’s not going to be quick. It’s not going to be cheap,” Futch said. “Developers are profit-oriented, so this needs to be either an individual that just wants to put their house on there, or the county that just wants to preserve the land.”

Futch acknowledged the valuable location of the land, saying “if it had a clear title, it would have been sold already.” 

On an adjacent parcel just mauka of the 82 acres, Wainaku Jik LLC also owns 43.7 acres that are on the market for $2 million and currently pending, according to Zillow.

For Boone, the biggest worry about a private landowner purchasing the 82 acres is access. The Ha‘ikū of her youth was full of open public spaces where she would pick pineapples and guavas and come back from bike rides with mud caked on her slippers. 

The area near the lighthouse, which was built in 1910 and has since morphed from a wooden tower on the keeper’s house to a stark white post overlooking the North Shore, holds importance for her whole family. Her mother, a midwife, used to take women down to the area known as the “Birthing Pools” to relax and be in nature. Her brothers used to go fishing and camping along the shoreline. 

And while Ha‘ikū isn’t prone to the big beachfront hotels that line West and South Maui, Boone said the privatization of land and limited access has pushed out community members from places like East Kuiaha Bay. She thinks about it while driving through some areas of Ha‘ikū where there are “for sale” signs on both sides of the road. 

“Growing up on the North Shore and seeing how much of my childhood playground is now privatized, is now cut off, it’s heartbreaking,” Boone said. “There must be another name other than nostalgia — it’s that idea of missing a place that still exists. And I feel like that is what’s happening.” 

When she saw the price drop by $1 million, Boone took to social media, hoping the county would feel the pressure to move forward with the purchase. She said she almost didn’t do it, worried that other buyers would “see it and snatch it up,” but felt it was worth the risk if the public could spur action. 

Maui County Council Member Nohe U‘u-Hodgins, who holds the Makawao-Ha‘ikū-Pāʻia seat, said the community has done “a really good job advocating for the county to buy this.” She hopes the purchase goes forward, though it’s now in the administration’s hands. 

When asked about the title issues, U‘u-Hodgins said, “considering that it is for sale, I would prefer for the county to buy it” and keep it in open space.

She said purchases like these can take time, especially when government is doing it, but added that preparation has been ongoing since the council put the money in the budget. For example, she’s been in talks with the nonprofit Mālama Hāmākua Maui to potentially help manage the land if the county does end up buying it. 

Project Manager Maile Davis said the nonprofit is working on a proposed management plan to submit to the county. She said the area is overgrown with cane grass where people dump old cars. Some of the nonprofit’s goals would be to clean the area, protect existing wildlife such as native bees and birds, restore native plants, and allow for cultural access. 

Davis said the community has “kind of outgrown” the community center and nearby park and hopes the land across from it could offer more gathering space. However, she said the ultimate vision will depend on the community’s wishes. 

Mālama Hāmākua Maui was formed in 2016 after the community pushed for the county to buy about 300 acres on the North Shore just a couple miles away from the current parcel near the lighthouse. The nonprofit, which has a right-of-entry from the county for the 300-acre parcel, known as the Hāmākualoa Open Space Preserve, has towed more than 50 abandoned cars from the area and started a native plant restoration area where it hosts community workdays. Last year, with the help of volunteers, they put more than 1,000 native plants into the ground. She hopes it will eventually be open to the wider community for hiking and other activities. 

Like Boone, Davis grew up in Ha‘ikū and has watched the community change as more land has fallen into private hands and more subdivisions have popped up. She said once land is blocked off, it’s hard to get it back and often involves a legal fight. 

“So I think that’s like one of the driving forces in big places like that, is to keep that access open,” Davis said.