City to get Ha'iku Stairs land

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

KANE'OHE — The city is poised to take possession of the land under Ha'iku Stairs today in a title transfer from the Board of Water Supply to the city Department of Parks and Recreation.

It's been a year since the city spent $875,000 to repair the stairs and the trail was expected to reopen, and problems continue to plague the project.

With two men arrested Saturday night for criminal trespassing for climbing the stairs, state Rep. Ken Ito said it's important for the city to come up with a comprehensive plan to solve this and other problems associated with the stairs.

Ito called today's scheduled title transfer premature and said he will ask the City Council Committee on Executive Matters to defer action. Ito said the community needs to be involved in resolving problems, and the city needs to build consensus on the issues.

"What's the rush?" Ito asked. "The mayor has only one year left and I think it would be better to spend that one year on planning and mitigation."

Repairs to the stairs were completed last year, and the trail was expected to reopen in October 2002. But liability concerns and a need for better warning signs delayed the reopening till this summer.

Meanwhile hundreds of people were hiking the stairs illegally, trespassing on neighboring residents' property and clogging their streets with parked cars to the point of disrupting mail and garbage service. Subsequently, some of the residents called for the permanent closure of the stairs.

Once acceptable signs were completed, the city had expected to open the trail in July and had been negotiating with Hope Chapel Kane'ohe's parent denomination for permission for parking and access. However, negotiations stalled and no new information about the stairs has been released by either city officials or representatives of the church's parent denomination.

Today's scheduled transfer would give the city parks department jurisdiction and responsibility for the stairs and surrounding property.

The Board of Water Supply owns more than 225 acres of forest reserve land on the steep slopes of the valley from Ha'iku Stairs to the tunnel, said Barry Usagawa, BWS principal executive for the Water Resources Unit.

The state Department of Transportation owns the land under H-3 and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands own 147 acres of the valley floor. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources also owns a piece of land along the ridge.

Usagawa said today's scheduled transfer was requested by the city and will not cost the city anything.

"It makes sense if they are going to own and operate the stairs that they have control of the land, including any liability that's associated with the land ownership," Usagawa said.

Besides parking and access, the city is supposed to be negotiating with the state to acquire property owned by Hawaiian Home Lands there with the intent of creating an educational center, Ito said, adding that restroom facilities also must be addressed.

Meanwhile, the city continues to post off-duty police officers at the foot of the stairs on weekends from early morning to dark to discourage trespassing.

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