Ha'iku Stairs legal complications persist
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
KANE'OHE — The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands says it is "very close" to an agreement that would give the city access to Ha'iku Stairs, and cannot comply with a legislative request to deny access until the administration meets a range of conditions.
Resolution HCR199, which was approved by the Legislature last month, does not have the force of law, but asks the departments of Hawaiian Home Lands, Transportation, and Land and Natural Resources, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, to not issue any easement to the city for access to Ha'iku Valley and Ha'iku Stairs until all required permitting, approvals and conditional agreements are identified by the respective agencies and adhered to by the city. These cover issues ranging from liability to maintenance as well as the preservation of cultural sites.
But DHHL spokesman Lloyd Yonenaka said the resolution is just an expression of the Legislature's wish.
"While we respect their wish, we hope they understand that our obligation is to our beneficiaries, and in the best interest of our beneficiaries we're moving forward," Yonenaka said.
City officials could not be reached for comment.
For months, DHHL, which owns 147 acres of land in the valley next to the stairs, and the city have been negotiating a land swap that would give the city land in the valley to build a parking lot and other amenities for hikers. The city has offered DHHL property in 'Ewa suitable for homes. DHHL has determined that developing homes in Ha'iku would be too costly.
Yonenaka said the swap will not include all of the Ha'iku Valley land belonging to DHHL.
The 3,922-step stairs in Ha'ku Valley were repaired in 2002 at a cost of $875,000 to the city but have remained closed because of a lack of legal access to the popular attraction. As a result, hikers numbering at times in the hundreds a day were trespassing over neighboring property, causing ill feelings between hikers and residents. That prompted some residents to call for permanent closure of the stairs.
The city is now providing security at the stairs in an attempt to keep illegal hikers away.
State Rep. Ken Ito, who introduced the resolution, said his intention was to get all parties to the table and talking. Ito said he felt that was happening now and he looks forward to the city getting the land, building a parking lot and accessing the stairs through Ha'ku Road.
"Now the city is looking at it seriously," said Ito, D-48th (Kane'ohe). "Now they're really talking."
But the other agencies said they were not involved with the negotiations at this time and have no power to deny access to the property.
The state Department of Transportation said the city would have to petition the Federal Highway Administration if it wanted to use the H-3 maintenance road, which DOT owns, to get to people on the stairs. The maintenance road is on Department of Land and Natural Resources property and the city would have to talk to them, said Scott Ishikawa, DOT spokesman.
"For security reasons and liability reasons, the city would have to go through them," Ishikawa said.
The state Office of Hawaiian Affairs doesn't have the power to grant access and would only be involved if the land is ceded and there's some revenue generated from it, said Scotty Bowman, with OHA.
If the agencies did adhere to the resolution, it could further delay the opening of the stairs and interfere with DHHL efforts to get people into homes, said Keoki Leong, chairman of the Ha'iku Stairs Task Force.
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
