The state House agreed yesterday to move a bill to save the Hokuli'a luxury home project on the Big Island over the objections and reservations of several lawmakers who believe the courts should decide the project's future.

Hokuli'a's developers have appealed to the state Supreme Court to overturn a Circuit Court ruling in Kona in 2003 that halted the project because developers had not obtained approval from the state Land Use Commission to build it on agricultural land. Hawai'i County had approved the project and Mayor Harry Kim has asked state lawmakers to support a bill that would basically allow Hokuli'a to proceed while also recognizing other housing built on agricultural land as legal.

The House by voice vote allowed the bill to move to the House Finance Committee in time to meet an important procedural deadline yesterday. But it still faces challenges in the House and some strong concerns in the Senate, where lawmakers will likely demand a broader discussion of state land-use policy.

State Rep. Bob Herkes, D-5th (Ka'u, S. Kona), the chairman of the House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee, said people who live in Kona want the dispute resolved. "These are my people and I know them," he told his colleagues. "They want this settled."

But state Rep. Cynthia Thielen, R-50th (Kailua, Mokapu), called the bill an embarrassment because it would bail out what she described as scofflaw developers who had lost in Circuit Court. "I would hope you have the guts to stand up and vote 'no,' " Thielen said.

Other lawmakers were disappointed that House leadership rescued the bill when it appeared it would not move out of the House Water, Land and Ocean Resources Committee, which had jurisdiction.

House leaders agreed to insert the Hokuli'a language into a separate land-use bill that had cleared the Water, Land and Ocean Resources Committee last year and was before the House Economic Development and Business Concerns Committee. The Economic Development committee, which was friendlier to the idea, passed it on Thursday.

Some lawmakers have said the bill could help encourage settlement talks between the developers and the plaintiffs who sued to stop the project. Previous attempts at a settlement have failed.

"What we're trying to do is keep the heat on," Herkes said.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.