Hawai'i Kai board endorses unlimited beach access
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
Residents expressed relief last night when the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board unanimously voted in favor of preserving unlimited access to a popular surfing and fishing spot on Portlock Road.
More than 30 residents showed up to support keeping the access to the sandy beach called Secrets, which includes a sandbar surfers and fishermen use to reach deeper water without having to walk over the reef to Seconds, a surfing spot.
With the vote, the city's attorneys will go back to the property owners and pursue condemnation proceedings against the three property owners who own the footpath.
Bert and Santy Dohmen-Ramirez have fought to limit access to the beach, placing a gate at the entryway to the access. As for the other property owners, one has always maintained he favored open access and the other has been silent on the issue.
The access issue has been hotly debated for almost five years, coming before the City Council, which led to the initial decision to pursue condemnation.
The city, in pre-trial negotiations with Bert Dohmen-Ramirez, presented a proposal that would lock the gate from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. City parks personnel would be responsible for locking and unlocking the gate to the 6-foot wide pathway.
The proposed settlement also gave the city an easement for $5,000, rather than the $800,000 Dohmen-Ramirez says the property is worth.
"I love that beach," said Paige Altonn, a resident of Portlock Road for 30 years who lives along a nearby beach access path. "I have no problem with the fishermen and surfers who come down my alley to access the beach. I want that gate removed. It should be gone."
Altonn said there have been no criminal incidents reported to the police, despite repeated claims by Dohmen-Ramirez that the gate was necessary to ensure his family's safety.
Dohmen-Ramirez could not be reached for comment.
City attorneys estimate it would cost more than $20,000 to go to trial and the city could be held responsible for Dohmen-Ramirez's legal fees if it did not win, said Charlie Rodgers, Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board chairman. "We don't accept the lock or the gate ever," Rodgers said. "Our position is no gate."
Manny Menendez, the city's representative said last night that the city's position would mirror that of the neighborhood board and the community.
Wayne Fujihara, a surfer who regularly uses the access, said he believed that if the city settled, it would set precedence for other landowners who want to keep the public off the beach fronting their homes.
"If this isn't resolved, it will be a statewide issue and every other landowner with access to the beach will wind up asking for the same compensation. How far will we go to preserve the right to this beach? I want to go all the way to preserve this one simple beach."
