"I feel like I'm an auctioneer," admitted Michael Borja. The administrator of the Chamorro Land Trust Commission said it was a tough sell. Attorney Therese Terlaje questioned, "Are we really faced with no other alternatives?"

The CLTC rolled out their inventory or 600 acres of commercial properties that are up for lease. The idea is to use revenues from the commercial leases to help fund much-needed land surveys and infrastructure for residential and agricultural applicants who have been waiting decades. Borja said, "This is what we've been trying to do for a long time - we build, it costs money to put infrastructure in some places. We want to build a community we want to build a community of homes and in order for developer to do it we have to engage in a commercial activity, and that's the reason why it's going up for commercial development."

Terlaje was one of many who showed up to the public hearing who expressed her opposition to commercial leasing of CLTC properties. She was one of three attorneys who 20 years ago successfully represented the late senator Angel Santos and others in a lawsuit against the governor of Guam at the time to force the implementation of the Chamorro Land Trust after it lay dormant for twenty years.

She told KUAM News, "Since the opening for applications two decades ago over 10,000 people applied for residential agricultural leases to this day there remains, I believe, 8,000." Terlaje says the law is clear in that the best use of the land is to grow residential and agricultural communities, not to be leased to the highest bidder for commercial purposes.

"While commissioners should invest wisely, the goal of the trust is not never was profit," she clarified.

Yet the CLTC hopes by making a profit it will help its applicants, with Borja stating, "Right now, if I gave you a lot, you're going to have to find a way to hook up your power and water at a great cost. And in some cases we've had people come to us and say it's going to cost me over $100,000 just to run those six-inch water lines and install those power poles just to get water and power."

The Chamorro Land Trust Commission is accepting public comments. You're encouraged to submit them via email or visit their offices at the ITC Building in Tamuning.