HONOLULU -- An attempt to repeal the city's leasehold conversion law died Wednesday at the City Council. It's a proposal that affects thousands of lessees and hundreds of landowners.

The city's leasehold conversion law allows condo and apartment lessees to force landowners to sell them the land under their units.

City Council Chairman John DeSoto introduced a proposal to repeal the law and it brought out more than 50 people to testify Wednesday.

One after another, small landowners and people representing trusts and large landowners asked council members to repeal the leasehold law.

"That (bill) was wrongfully crafted for the private benefit of a special interest group. You know the truth. Land taking is wrong," landowner Phyllis Zerbe said.

"Chapter 38 is a bad ordinance. (It) was always bad and should not exist to begin with," landowner Marguerite Kauhane said.

Lessees showed up at the meeting asking council members to keep the law that allowed them to buy the land under their condos and apartments.

"We're not rich people. Leasehold was our only way to start in homeownership. It gave us an opportunity to get out of rental and to finally own property," leasehold supporter Carole Manuwa said.

"I am Hawaiian. I just want to reiterate what my wife had said, of how you're hurting people like us, that work hard," leaseholder James Manuwa said.

In the end, five of nine council members voted to kill the repeal bill on first reading.

That means the law stands for now with John Henry Felix, Duke Bainum, Steve Holmes, Jon Yoshimura and Gary Okino in support of it.

"It has been in existence now for over 10 years. It has withstood legal and constitutional challenges in both state and federal courts," Councilman Gary Okino said.

Council Chairman John DeSoto made four speeches in favor of keeping the proposal to kill leasehold alive, saying the council shouldn't put this issue off for six new council members who'll be elected in November.

"I'm not a type of person to pass the buck and give it to someone else to deal with it, because it's very controversial. It makes us look stupid, whether you're for it or against it. That's not why you were elected. That's not why I was elected, that's not why you were elected," DeSoto said.

It's rare for the council to kill a proposal on first reading, as it did Wednesday and not allow it to survive for further debate in committee.