Kahalu'u driveway feud intensifies

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Bureau

KAHALU'U — What might be a simple disagreement between residents under other circumstances has developed into a full-blown incident in this rural Windward community, where a Japanese billionaire tore out the driveway of an 83-year-old neighbor's house on Christmas Eve and left her no way to reach the road.

For 40 years, Cecilia Murakami's driveway on Huna'ahi Street has crossed the neighboring property owned since 1988 by Gensiro Kawamoto. When the Murakamis purchased their property in 1957, they were told they could use the driveway to reach their home, she said. She doesn't understand why that suddenly became a problem for Kawamoto.

Representatives for Kawamoto said he plans to build a new house on his land and pointed out that Murakami and another neighbor, Jeffrey Schade, were notified in October that their driveways were encroaching and had to be removed.

They each live on a corner lot on Iuiu and Huna'ahi streets overlooking Kane'ohe Bay. The lot is between Kane'ohe and Kahalu'u off Kamehameha Highway.

Both resisted the notice, and Kawamoto ordered the asphalt driveways destroyed.

Other residents here were angered by the action, calling it an injustice.

"It was mean-spirited to remove the driveway and especially on Christmas Eve," said Sen. Bob Nakata.

Now the state has issued a notice to Kawamoto to cease unauthorized activity in a conservation district. A permit is required for any such activity in a conservation district.

Carol Asai-Sato, attorney for Kawamoto, said yesterday that there is no more activity there except to use the area to reach Kawamoto's 130-acre property.

Asai-Sato said the work was scheduled for mid-December, but was delayed when Schade asked the city building department to step in. That's when she filed legal action against Schade. The city has since said it had no jurisdiction over the property and Schade promised not to interfere with the demolition, Asai-Sato said.

After a survey of the property, both neighbors were notified Oct. 3 of their encroachment and illegal use of the property, she said. The encroachments were a portion of a rock wall and concrete slab driveway.

The area is the main entry to Kawamoto's property and will be used when surveying the property for his new home, Asai-Sato said, adding that no plans for any project have been finalized.

"We had not targeted Christmas Eve," she said. "It was our intention to get it done in mid-December, way before Christmas."

To build on conservation land, Kawamoto will have to apply to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which has jurisdiction over the land. Sam Lemmo, with Land and Natural Resources, said no application has been made and that the owner needed a permit to demolish the driveway, if it is on conservation land. The department will investigate further, Lemmo said.

"We did issue the cease order because we had probable cause to believe he was working in a conservation area," Lemmo said.

Bill Murakami, Cecilia Murakami's son, said he has tried to reason with Kawamoto's representatives but has been unsuccessful. The issue may end up in court, but Murakami said he can't afford to go against a billionaire.

"I'm at my wits' end as to what to do," Bill Murakami said.

To avoid trespassing on Kawamoto's property, Schade could drive across his lawn to get to his home, but Cecilia Murakami, who gets around with a walker, must climb over a wall that ranges from three to six feet tall. She continues to trespass to reach her home, ignoring "no trespassing" signs erected by Kawa-moto.

Using a walker yesterday, she struggled up the slope to her home across a gravel patch that once was her driveway. The walker had to be carefully placed at an angle to the slope so the two front wheels wouldn't roll downhill from her hillside property.

"Going up is not too bad," she said. "But coming down is not safe. The walker has a tendency to slide."

She said she doesn't understand Kawamoto's action, but she forgives him.

"At my age, I can only trust in the Lord," she said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.