Note to our City Council members, mulling over the Waimea Valley problem: There are times for expedient solutions, but this is not one of them.

Waimea is a gem in the coffers of the state's environmental and cultural riches. It's also been a battleground for a classic land-use conflict, especially since the city took control of the 1,875-acre district on the North Shore in 2002.

Since then, the city has been negotiating with landowner Christian Wolffer over the price to be paid upon its condemnation. The city has set aside more than $5.1 million for its purchase, while Wolffer's price has been set at more than three times that amount.

While the negotiations dragged on, the Audubon Center, the new caretaker of the botanical park in the valley, offered a limited program but was unable to fully embark on its impressive plans because it could only secure a month-to-month lease.

So it's understandable that elected officials feel pressure to end the impasse. But they should not yield to it.

The proposed settlement details have not been disclosed — they're still being debated behind closed doors — but the testimony offered last week indicated that subdivision of the park and some form of development are being considered.

That would be the end of a dream that the community still cherishes, and one the city has promised to fulfill: the protection of the valley's waterfall, streams, rare plants and cultural treasures.

The council, which will resume consideration of the settlement this week, faces a Dec. 7 deadline for action. Members should try to find some way out of this morass — but not if sacrificing the valley is the price.

If there's no other route to a settlement, it would be better to take the question to court than to accept a compromise that cashes in Waimea's greatest assets.

Waimea remains one of Hawai'i's last intact ahupua'a — an ocean-to-mountain ecosystem — a glimpse into the past at traditional Hawaiian environmental stewardship. Subdividing this land would destroy that legacy.