Gatekeepers deny 'Stairway to Heaven'

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

KANE'OHE — Two new obstacles have arisen that threaten to delay indefinitely the opening of the Ha'iku Stairs.

• The Department of Hawaiian Homelands — at the request of state Rep. Ken Ito — has refused a city request to allow access across its land at the foot of the stairs, one of two planned access points. Concerns about parking and trespassing had been raised by neighbors in the Ha'iku Road area.
• Hope Chapel, which had agreed in principle to allow access through its property on Po'okela Street, said yesterday that a contract agreement is still under negotiation and is now in the hands of its parent denomination.

The developments effectively cut off both routes to the "Stairway to Heaven" and leave the city with no way to get to the popular metal stairway and hiking trail it has spent more than two years and $875,000 to repair and reopen.

In a sign that even more problems lie ahead, some residents are calling for permanent closure of the stairs.

Ha'iku Stairs, closed to the public in 1987, was to reopen this month, giving access to panoramic views of the Windward side. It is unclear now when the trail will reopen. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

"I want everything stopped now until we dialogue with the residents," he said. "The residents are very angry and frustrated. They feel they've been blindsided."

The city has said no firm date was set for the reopening, but Sen. Bob Hogue, R-24th (Kailua, Kane'ohe), had said it could be as early as next week. That event has been canceled in view of recent developments, said City Councilwoman Barbara Marshall.

City spokeswoman Carol Costa would say only that the reopening had been delayed and the city was handling the community's concerns.

Ha'iku Stairs had fallen into disrepair and was closed in 1987, though hikers — sometimes hundreds a day on weekends, residents said — continued to climb until locked gates and police officers recently blocked access.

The trail, which offers a panoramic view of Windward O'ahu, was refurbished a year ago. Reopening stalled over parking and access issues, and liability concerns after a 2002 Circuit Court ruling that found the state liable for deaths at a 1999 Sacred Falls rockslide because of poor signage.

New warning and educational signs have been installed in a flurry of activity to make the area ready, said Hogue, who visited the stairs yesterday.

All of that is on hold now.

Marshall said the city had a contract with Hope Chapel, but it is considered void because the person who signed it apparently did not have authority to do so.

"We're not involved in that any more," Moore said. "It's out of our hands."

Neighbors from Hokulele in Ha'iku Valley, Castle Hills near Hope Chapel, and others near the Ha'iku Road entrance to the stairs have complained about hikers parking in the neighborhoods, blocking trash pickup and mail delivery, leaving trash, trespassing, using water without permission and harassing residents.

Keala Leong, 28, said the situation is so bad in her Hokulele neighborhood that residents are calling for permanent closure of the stairs.

Ito said he had asked the state Department of Transportation to withdraw its consent to allow hikers to cross an access road that leads to the stairs from the Hope Chapel access point. Even if the church's contract with the city is approved, he said he would like the gate at Hope Chapel to remain locked.

Micah Kane, director of DHHL, said the city had asked for parking and access in the back of the valley on the Ha'iku Road end where DHHL owns 140 acres.

When it embarked on repair of the stairs, the city planned to negotiate a land swap with DHHL for the property and build an education center and parking area to serve the trail. No deal was ever reached.

Kane said the DHHL is still interested in a land swap.

The department also is willing to consider the parking and access request, he said, but residents' issues must be resolved first.

"We will not issue them a right of entry until we hear from the community," Kane said. "I think that's only fair to those families."

Kane said he wanted to make sure DHHL action did not overly disturb families in the area. "We're approaching this as if this is one of our homestead communities or one of our families."

Marshall was concerned for both the city and residents.

"I'd hate to see us lose this," she said the Ha'iku Stairs. "I think it's a wonderful resource. It's highly valued by a lot of local people and tourists. We need to figure out how to make it work for everybody. But I don't want it to be at the expense of these poor people who live in the area."