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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, October 29, 2003

Land swap is city's hope for Ha'iku Stairs access

 •  Map: No access to 'Stairway to Heaven'

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

KANE'OHE — The city has ended its pursuit of parking at Hope Chapel Kane'ohe for access to Ha'iku Stairs, leaving officials with just one viable option if the popular hiking trail is ever to reopen to the public: a land swap with the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

To that end, city Managing Director Ben Lee said efforts to restart negotiations with the DHHL have begun, with the city hoping to acquire the former site of the Coast Guard Omega navigational aid station in Ha'iku Valley. A new proposal includes a temporary right of entry through the property in an attempt to gain legal public access to the stairs as soon as possible.

However, several attempts to negotiate a land swap with the DHHL have failed over the past few years, and while the city's new overture includes some "attractive" parcels in central O'ahu for the Ha'iku land, the proposal will take a "significant" amount of time to process, said Micah Kane, DHHL director.

Further, the department is not willing to grant early public entry to the property.

"The temporary access will only occur if it looks like we're coming to a conclusion on the land," Kane said.

These latest developments, along with growing opposition to the reopening of the stairs in the surrounding residential community, complicate the city's effort to restore public access to the area.

Thousands of people used to climb the 3,922-step metal stairway yearly, enjoying a panoramic view of the Windward coast and Honolulu. But the stairway fell into disrepair and was closed in 1987; hikers continued to climb anyway. The city took possession of the hiking area from the state in 2000 with public access in mind. But adjacent land needed for access went to the DHHL after the Coast Guard closed its Omega station.

Despite the city spending $875,000 on repairs, the stairs remain closed a year after they were expected to reopen.

Now, besides having access problems the city also must deal with angry neighbors.

Residents of the neighboring residential community say they have suffered at the hands of abusive hikers who trespass through their property to illegally climb the stairs.

To try to stem those problems, the city recently posted guards seven days a week at the bottom of the stairs and at one of the entries to the property. About 252 hikers tried to reach the stairs in September, Lee said. Before the guards were posted, hundreds of hikers would trek through the neighborhood on weekends, residents said.

Laredo Murray lives in the Hokulele neighborhood beneath the stairs and he said the number of cars and hikers has dropped since the guard was posted. Murray, who said he has climbed the stairs several times, said he isn't bothered by the hikers.

But he said the controversy has caused a rift between anti-stairs residents and those who tolerate the hikers. Murray said he tries to discourage the hikers because of the security guard.

"It's calm right now," said Murray, who has lived in Hokulele for 16 years. "But there's still a lot of hate in the neighborhood stemming from what happened before."

Even if the Hope Chapel deal worked out, Murray said he didn't feel it would reduce the number of cars in his neighborhood.

"It's a major shortcut. They'd still be around here cutting holes in the fence or going over it," Murray said. "And Saturday, Sunday and holidays, that's a big hiking day and isn't that service day up there at Hope Chapel?"

Besides the DHHL land, another option to access the stairs is through the H-3 construction access road, Lee said. However, making it usable would be costly, he said.

Instead, Lee pins his hopes on the DHHL land and vows that the city will not reopen the stairs until there is adequate parking. The city also would provide security guards, rules and regulations to control visitors and restroom facilities, he said.

Still, access through the old Omega station raises concerns in the surrounding community, said Roy Yanagihara, Kane'ohe Neighborhood Board chairman. Although the board favors opening the stairs for public use, it opposed the Omega station entry because it would increase traffic through the relatively quiet residential area, Yanagihara said.

The board will form a task force to examine other options and hopes to work with the city on the problem, he said.

But, he said, city officials created some of their own problems by being slow to respond to neighbors' complaints about trespassers.

Staff writer Curtis Lum contributed to this report. Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.

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