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Board delays cancellation of Waimanalo agricultural lease after lessee requests time to remedy defaults
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Summary
The Board of Agriculture deferred action on a proposed cancellation of general lease S-3109 in Waimanalo after the lessee, Milton Coleman, asked for at least three months to address rent arrears and present a repayment plan; staff reported roughly $134,000 in unpaid rent and recommended cancellation if the lessee cannot cure defaults.
The State of Hawaii Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity on Jan. 27 deferred action on a proposed cancellation of general lease S-3109 in Waimanalo after the lessee requested extra time to cure multiple defaults.
Kevin Moore, agricultural land program manager for the department’s Agricultural Resource Management Division, told the board the 1.4-acre lease was issued in 2014 and has a long history of delinquencies. Moore said staff issued a notice of default after repeated failed contacts and recorded a rent arrearage “in the 134,000 to 136,000 range” and additional past-due real property taxes. He said the lease had been previously considered by the board multiple times and that staff recommended terminating the lease, issuing a cancellation document, and returning the parcel to public disposition procedures if the lessee did not cure the defaults.
The primary interest at the meeting came from Milton Coleman, who joined remotely and asked the board to defer cancelling the lease for at least three months so his family could complete improvements and secure financial backing. Coleman said the property is being farmed using Korean natural farming techniques and listed crops including breadfruit, coconut and cacao. “We just need at least three more months to get the ship righted,” Coleman said in his testimony, explaining that family members have been maintaining operations while he has been overseas and that he hopes to transfer the lease to his son.
Public witnesses including Tara Lopez, Kevin Chang of Ku‘aina Ulu‘a‘amo, and others urged the board to consider the farm’s generational and food-security value and to allow staff to work with Coleman on a plan. Several speakers emphasized the farm’s cultural and community role and asked the department to consider alternative production systems when assessing compliance with lease terms.
Board members asked staff for additional billing detail separating rent from interest and penalties and requested a site inspection by staff and, if needed, an agricultural resource expert from CTAHR to review the lessee’s production practices. Member Diane (last name on record: Diane Lehi) proposed that staff work with the lessee to review communications and to return with a recommendation no later than the board’s next meeting.
The board agreed to defer the matter to the next regular meeting and asked staff to present a detailed accounting of the arrears (taxes, rent, interest) and to arrange a site visit including resource expertise to better evaluate the lessee’s farming methods and a plan to bring accounts current. The department also noted it could continue with the statutory process to cancel and dispose of the parcel should the lessee not demonstrate a viable cure plan.
Next steps: staff will provide an itemized billing and site inspection results and the lessee or his designated representative is to appear at the next board meeting with a repayment and stewardship plan for the board’s consideration.
