Frequently Asked Questions
How many houses are you going to build?… One owner-occupied, energy efficient, single family residence similar in size and style to neighboring Kailua Bluffs homes.
Are you building a commercial Solar farm or Wind farm?… No. Our home will have standard roof mounted residential PV panels like neighboring Kailua Bluffs homes.
Did you buy the land at a reduced price in a back room deal?… No. The property was openly listed for sale on November 20, 2012 in the Honolulu Board of Realtors Multiple Listing System as listing MLS1212798. It was actively marketed to the general public and available for purchase by anyone. Many prospective Buyers investigated and considered the property. The land was on the market for four months before we made our offer in March 2013. The Seller continued to market the property until we completed the purchase two months later. There was absolutely nothing “under the radar” or “back room” about the sale of this property. It was a challenging property with numerous easements, encroachments, and adverse conditions which are reflected in the appraised value. The fact that it did not receive an offer for four months on the open market indicates clearly that the property was NOT under priced and it sold at fair market value.
Are you rezoning, subdividing, or building condos?…No.
Are you building on the top of the ridge?… No. Our home site is well below the main ridgeline off the shoulder of a side finger ridge nestled behind a grove of mature trees. We have given up a sweeping view in respect for our neighbors privacy and Kailua’s vistas.
Are you subject to the Kailua Bluffs CC&R’s?…No. Most Kailua Bluffs properties have NO CC&R’s. Only Phase VI and Phase VII properties which were sold as finished “Residential Lots” have CC&R’s. Our “remainder lot” is excluded from the legal description of the land area to which the CC&R’s apply and the CC&R documents specifically state that the CC&R’s only apply to the Residential Lots of Phase VI and Phase VII and no other Kailua Bluffs properties.
Rumor of the Month
They are going to BUILD CONDOS behind our homes…FALSE!
A small group of Kailua Bluffs folks are making alarming false claims on their facebook page, and telling neighbors that we are proposing to build condos on our land. They are posting portions of the “Alternatives to the Proposed Use” section in our Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) completely out of context and misrepresenting them to generate fear and mistrust. Rest assured, we have never considered building condos on our property and we are not proposing to subdivide or build condos.
It’s really a gated commercial farm… FALSE!
Now that the group leading the misinformation campaign has been proven wrong about condos, rezoning, and subdivision which were never happening or proposed, their new tactic is to claim that we are really creating a gated commercial farm. They are claiming that our proposed organic Family Subsistence Garden (Agriculture Use) on about a half an acre below the home is really going to be rows of crops with water wasting overhead sprinklers causing runoff and erosion of the hillsides, heavy use of pesticides, and farm machinery falling into their back yards. One person even wrote that we told him we will be hiring a private security force and housing them on our property disguised as farm workers!
“Subsistence Agriculture less than One Acre” is the official “Use” term from the Conservation laws and rules that describes a family vegetable garden or planting of fruit trees. Even if you are just proposing to have a small vegetable patch like many Kailua Bluffs homes have in their backyard, you have to request permission for the “Use” of Subsistence Agriculture less than One Acre.
What are we proposing? We plan to plant a few native and non-invasive fruit trees like Ulu (Breadfruit), bananas, and citrus for family use that will also serve to visually screen our home from view. We will grow Kalo and vegetables in a few planters near our home for family use. We are Organic gardeners and Do Not Use Pesticides on our fruits and vegetables in order to meet the safe food needs of our disabled family member. We will use water recycled from our roof and water conserving drip irrigation. Gardening will be done by hand, not by farm machinery.
Please neighbors, next time you hear a heart-stopping rumor about our land or plans, share it with us first!