City to refile suit over beach access

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

HAWAI'I KAI — The city has lost its lawsuit against a property owner who tried for years to block surfers, fishermen and others from getting to a popular surfing spot called Seconds and now must start the process anew to ensure public access to the ocean.

The city is determined to provide access and will refile the condemnation lawsuit over the Portlock Road accessway if efforts to negotiate a settlement fail, Costa said.

The city has spent about $15,000 seeking an easement that an appraiser has told the city is worth $200, said Costa.

However, City Councilman Charles Djou, who represents the area, said the city has set aside $50,000 for the purchase and will ask the council for an additional $100,000 to buy three more easements along Portlock Road.

Although the Portlock Road access is open today, surfers like Jim Kirk fear that it could be closed off at any time, for any reason, until the city assures public access by buying the rights for public use.

"There has been so much work done on this," Kirk said. "And even though the homeowner is gone, I still believe we need to preserve the public access."

Condemnation allows the government to take private property for the public good, in this case to maintain beach access. The process also involves public hearings and testimony, and then court hearings to determine the value of the land in question.

All of that will have to be redone to determine the value of the six-foot-wide accessway on Portlock Road, said Djou.

The city is under a state mandate to provide beach access, every quarter-mile, where feasible.

Beach accessways that are under the city's jurisdiction are owned by the city fee simple or are granted access rights by easement or license, Costa said.

Some accessways are privately owned, like the one leading to Seconds. Barring specific government action, access is assured only in housing developments built after 1973, the year legislators approved laws governing access to the mountains and the shoreline.

The beach access at 377 Portlock Road, which leads to Seconds, became an issue in 1997, after one of the three property owners, Bert Dohmen-Ramirez, erected a chain-link gate at its entrance. He complained that his family's safety and privacy were jeopardized by people using the access adjacent to his property.

Of the other two property owners, one has always maintained that the public has a right to use the accessway, and the other has not aired his views.

Residents petitioned and testified at community meetings and at City Hall, calling on government to keep the access open.

After a lock appeared on the gate, then-City Councilman Jon Yoshimura showed up with a locksmith to cut off the lock and got into a shouting match with Dohmen-Ramirez.

All the while, the city was trying to negotiate with the homeowner.

Last year, Dohmen-Ramirez moved out of his home, but he still owns the property. He could not be reached for comment.

There are 18 accessways on Portlock Road, but only four, including the one at 377 Portlock Road, that may be considered public rights of way, according to a state study done in 1990.

Djou said he supports community access to the shoreline, but feels the city needs to remain fiscally responsible.

For surfer Kirk, it's simply a matter of public-access rights.

"It's important to preserve the access for the next generation," Kirk said. "If a gate is allowed to go up there, then what is to stop more gates from going up?"

His sentiment was echoed by a member of the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board.

"I strongly feel that it is essential to provide public access to beaches, and the city must preserve such access," said Lester Muraoka. "The state has ruled that beaches belong to the public, the citizens of Hawai'i, but it would all be meaningless if no one could get there and use the beaches."

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.