Ha'iku Stairs access proposed

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

KANE'OHE — A task force working to help open access to Ha'iku Stairs while protecting the rights of neighboring residents thinks it has found a solution.

The idea has received tentative approval from the college and the hospital, though final permission is still needed from the state Department of Health and the University of Hawai'i, said Keoki Leong, chairman of the Ha'iku Stairs Task Force and a member of the Kane'ohe Neighborhood Board.

"The (proposed) access route would be totally away from the community," Leong said. He said it would resolve conflict between residents and hikers and take some pressure off the city, which is negotiating a land swap with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands that would provide access to the trail.

Hundreds of trespassers

The stairs have been at the center of controversy since $875,000 in city renovations was completed last summer. While the stairs initially remained closed because of liability issues, hundreds of trespassers illegally cut through residential lots to climb them, leaving their trash, crowding neighborhoods with their cars, waking people early in the morning and then cursing them for complaining.

That delayed the reopening even further and prompted some residents to call for keeping the stairs closed permanently. Meanwhile, negotiations between the city and the Home Lands Department are expected to take many months.

Leong said access through the college and hospital property could be ready much faster.

"This could be open within two months from when it's approved," he said.

Under the proposal, the public would park at the college and hike along a fence behind the hospital to a service road that leads to the stairs, Leong said.

An organization such as the Friends of Haiku Stairs would be responsible for operations and would most likely charge a fee. That would have the added benefit of controlling the number of people who climb the stairs, Leong said.

Representatives of the college and hospital said their first responsibility is to their students and patients but they would be willing to participate if something can be worked out.

"We're looking at the feasibility of using the college," said Steve Nakasone, director of administrative services at the college. "We haven't committed anything yet but we're open to it."

Paul Guggenheim, director of the hospital, said he'll take the proposal to the Health Department director.

Any access would require that a pair of 12-foot-tall fences be installed along the path to protect patients, and the public would have to be kept away from a water tank on the property, Guggenheim said.

"If that works out and my director agrees, we would not be opposed to that," he said. "We want to be good neighbors and assist in any we can, but I have to protect the campus, assure my patients are safe, my staff are safe and I haven't compromised my operation."

This proposal, if approved, would open access to the stairs sooner than the city's effort to swap with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for Ha'iku Valley land next to the stairs, said Roy Yanagihara, Kane'ohe Neighborhood Board chairman.

Land swap

The city wants to swap for 147 acres from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and build a parking lot, education center and provide access to the trail.

With Mayor Jeremy Harris' administration ending in little more than a year — January 2005 — Yanagihara questioned whether the city can complete the swap and get City Council approval to improve the property and open it to the public.

Once Harris is out of office, "City Council will not agree to spend money to improve the trail or build," Yanagihara said. "That's where it's going to end. That's the way we see it."

The city is still negotiating with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which recently sent a letter to the city agreeing not to sell the property to anyone else for six months, said Lloyd Yonenaka, department spokesman. The city has not returned the letter.

"The agreement ensures that we will work with the county to come to an agreement," Yonenaka said, adding that any land swap would have to be approved by the U.S. Department of Interior. "It's a long process, but we're committed to work with the county to come to an agreement."

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