For years no one knew that Kamehameha Schools still owned the land. When the land was sold in fee in the mid- 1980s, that part of the property wasn't transferred, said Kekoa Paulsen, Kamehameha Schools spokes-man.

Now, with little practical use for the land, Kamehameha Schools wants to unload the strip of beach to whomever is interested, for the cost of conveyance — anywhere from $10 to $100.

Neither the city nor state has expressed interest in the land, said Paulsen, and if neither public entity steps forward, then the landowner will resume negotiations with the homeowners.

Beachgoers fear that increasing beachfront owners' holdings takes Portlock Beach one step closer to becoming a private beach.

"Once the beach reserve is sold to private citizens, this beach will be gone from Hawai'i's people forever."

The city said it has never heard from the landowner. However, a letter dated Aug. 27 to Ben Lee, city managing director, asks that the city respond to Kamehameha Schools within 60 days if it's interested.

"There are times the correspondence doesn't get to my desk," Lee said. "But I will take a look at it."

Even if public officials are interested, it's not that simple to take on the responsibility of new land, said Peter Young, state Department of Land and Natural Resources chairman. The department oversees all of Hawai'i's public beaches.

The state is willing to entertain the idea, he said, but there are management issues that must be hashed out, from liability concerns, to encroachments from seawalls and property owners' pools, and even squatters and homelessness.

"We'd look into it," Young said. "The state isn't in the position now to buy it, but we'd certainly go into negotiations, or assist the city if it wants to acquire the land."

Portlock Road has been the site of many arguments over beach access. The city has fought to maintain public access, but gates still get erected across some public accesssways and "no thoroughfare signs" line many rights of way.

Meanwhile, beachgoers have been pushing the city for a decade to acquire the legal right of way, saying the public deserves unfettered access to the beach like in other beachfront communities such as Kahala, Lanikai and Kailua.

There are two public rights of way owned by the city along Portlock Road. One is at Kokee Street, which requires a hike down to the ocean, and the other is at the bathhouse at Maunalua Bay. The rest of the 17 accessways along Portlock Road, while made open by the homeowners, are actually private property.

The city had considered condemning the land for four of the lanes along the road, but has not completed the process. Condemnation on one lane was thrown out by the court system this year because there was inadequate notice to the property owners.

Many homeowners favor the long-standing unwritten acknowledgment that oceanfront property owners need to allow fishermen, surfers and beachgoers access to the shoreline through the lanes. They reiterated that in a recent letter of understanding through the Portlock Community Association.

"It's a very complicated situation," said Patricia Stanford, a Portlock Road resident for 17 years. But, she said, "we are very open to keeping open access."

However, while the letter of understanding shows the intention of the community to work with beachgoers, it is not a legally binding agreement, City Councilman Charles Djou has said.

Beachgoers do not understand why the city hasn't snapped up the chance to acquire more beach land, said surfer Wayne Fujihara.

To have land like this is rare for Kamehameha Schools, said Paulsen. Hawai'i Kai land had been owned by the trust until the mid-1980s when the courts ordered that the land be offered in fee to homeowners.

"These are remnant parcels left over when the subdivision was built in the 1960s," Paulsen said. "It was supposed to be used for seawalls, but now we'd like to turn it over to the homeowners or the city."

The land poses a liability to the landowner, Paulsen said. Plus the land is landlocked and undevelopable, he said.

"We can't develop it," he said. "We offered it to the city twice already and the city has not responded to us. We asked for a response ...; maybe they're still considering it."

Before the land can be transferred to a new owner, a survey will have to be done to determine its exact dimensions. After more than 20 years of erosion the ocean might have claimed whatever land there might have been in some cases, and in others, there's a strip that's maybe 10 feet wide, Paulsen said.

It was about three weeks ago that beachgoers found out about the Portlock Beach Reserve and the landowner's attempt to transfer ownership. Since then, a group of residents has launched a petition drive, collecting more than 700 signatures from people who want to see the city or state get that land, Kirk said.

Many of the signatures were received through a petition that is being circulated over the Web.

"I think this is the heart of the issue of beach access," Fujihara said. "Before homes were built the shoreline was there and it was for everyone."

It should still be that way, he said.