Task force plan could expedite opening of Ha'iku Stairs

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

KANE'OHE — Fearing that the reopening of the Ha'iku Stairs could be as far off as a year away, a task force is recommending that the city charge a fee for using the facility, hire a nonprofit group to operate it and acquire access to the area through Windward Community College.

The area and the stairs remain closed until access and other issues are resolved, but the Ha'iku Stairs Task Force believes that its proposals would get the popular hiking attraction open sooner.

The task force, made up of neighborhood board members, Ha'iku Valley residents and groups with a stake in the issue, also recommended that a fence separating residences from land around the stairs be repaired and reinforced against trespassers. "No trespassing" signs should be conspicuously posted and security guards hired to stop illegal entry through people's yards, the task force said.

Keoki Leong, task force chairman, said the recommendations were based on residents' concerns and on the needs of people who'd use the stairs.

"These proposals may not address all future issues, but it does address the primary issue of trespassing," Leong said.

The task force will take its recommendations to the Kane'ohe Neighborhood Board for approval at 7 p.m. today at Windward Community College, in 'Akoakoa Hale Rooms 103-108. The board could add or delete some of the recommendations, Leong said. If approved, the recommendations would go to the city.

Ha'iku Stairs, a 3,922-step climb from Ha'iku Valley to the top of the Ko'olau Range, was renovated in 2002 at a cost of $875,000.

The reopening, originally scheduled for October 2002, was delayed several times because of access problems and time needed to install warning signs, but during that interval hundreds of people cut through neighboring property to climb the stairs, causing a rift between landowners and hikers.

Late last year the city posted police at the bottom of the stairs to stop climbers while it negotiated a land swap and possible access with the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which owns the land next to the stairs that was once the Coast Guard Omega Station. Those negotiations are ongoing, the city said.

In its recommendation, the task force said it recognizes that the negotiations and ensuing preparation of the property the city is seeking could delay the opening of the stairs for another year.

So it recommends that the city seek an entry to the stairs through Windward Community College and Hawai'i State Hospital, which abut each other and the H-3 service road that leads to the stairs. The college entry has parking and amenities that are needed before the public can go up the stairs, Leong said.

"I think this could be a permanent solution for access," he said.

In December the college said it was noncommittal on the proposal and the hospital said that if requirements were met and the department head approved, it could support the effort. However, state Rep. Ken Ito said he would oppose the recommendation.

The task force wants the city to look for a nonprofit group qualified and experienced to operate the site.

The organization would be held accountable for services and maintenance and be permitted to sell tickets, enabling the group to control access and the number of people entering the area, he said.

A reasonable user fee would allow the nonprofit to pay for such things as liability insurance, security and maintenance, Leong said.

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