Gold Coast ladder going back up
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
A popular sea ladder removed more than a year ago at the state's direction will be reinstalled after area residents convinced the state Land Board that it was needed.
"We've spent the year trying to get the state to realize that (the sea ladder) is a public facility and a lot of people use it," said Bob Gentry, of the Gold Coast Neighborhood Association. "We felt if we did this, we needed to do it right. It wasn't a little neighborhood tussle; it was a major ocean-access issue."
The state Board of Land and Natural Resources on March 28 approved the association's request for an easement that will allow the reinstallation of the sea ladder in front of the Diamond Head Ambassador Apartments.
The ladder provided the only easy access to the ocean from the Elks Club to the end of Kalakaua Avenue. There are two other accessways about a quarter-mile away, but they require that swimmers walk on coral and rocks to reach the ocean.
The ladder had been a fixture on this part of the shoreline — commonly called the Gold Coast — for nearly 30 years, but it was removed last year after a member of the Diamond Head Ambassador cooperative board of directors expressed concerns about liability, vandalism and noise from people walking along the seawall to access the stairs. The ladder was connected to a retaining wall fronting the Diamond Head Ambassador Apartments.
After determining that there was no permit allowing the ladder, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which is directed by the Land Board, required that it be removed.
Gentry's association challenged the state's decision and applied for an easement that would allow the sea ladder to be reinstalled. The DLNR received 60 letters in support of the ladder and only one against.
Virgil Stinnett is one of the residents who support the sea ladder. He had used the ladder to get into the ocean for his daily swim.
"It will make it a lot safer and easier for people in the community to have access to the ocean," Stinnett said. "For myself, I won't need to rely upon anyone else to help me. Both my wife and I are blind. We use the ocean as much as we can, but it's been harder to get in the water without the ladder."
The state did a survey of the shoreline and determined that the seawall was owned by the state and not the Diamond Head Ambassador as initially believed, and to reinstall the ladder, an easement was needed.
The easement, granted by the Board of Land and Natural Resources, is for 55 years, at an as-yet undetermined amount, but Gentry figures it should cost about $2,000 for the life of the lease.
The association has been instructed to carry liability insurance and to obtain a survey, said Gentry, whose organization represents residents from six apartment buildings in the area.
Stephen Mau, the attorney representing the Diamond Head Ambassador, said the requirements to a certain extent settle the issue of the sea ladder.
"Because the sea wall is under state property, we don't have much choice," Mau said. "There are a lot of people who are very happy to have the ladder back. It's clear now that the Gold Coast Neighborhood Association is responsible."
Gentry didn't know when the ladder would be reinstalled. Its reattachment depends on the fund-raising abilities of the association, which is now a nonprofit corporation, he said. The group needs $20,000 to $30,000 to pay attorney fees, the easement fees, reinstallation of the ladder, maintenance and insurance, he said.
"We're very pleased," Gentry said. "We've done this very correctly and this access will be there now permanently. It's important to me and the group that people have access to the ocean, especially when you live on the ocean and depend upon it for daily exercise."
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.
