The 3,922-step metal stairway up the Ko'olau Range to the summit of Pu'u Keahiakahoe has been off-limits to the public since 1987, but hundreds of hikers illegally climb it every week. The city spent $875,000 to renovate the stairs in 2002, but they have remained closed because of disputes over access, parking and trespassing issues that have fueled tension between hikers and neighbors.

Sue Drewry, who lives near the proposed entrance to the trail, said hikers routinely climb the 6-foot fence that's supposed to keep them out, and that barbed wire atop the fence had been cut to allow easy access.

"I haven't had one night when someone hasn't climbed the fence," said Drewry, who opposed the land swap.

The city administration wanted to acquire Ha'iku property owned by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, and turn it into a nature park that would provide legal access to the stairs. DHHL plans to develop housing in 'Ewa and wanted to acquire adjacent city land to build 300 more homes.

But the council's Budget Committee shelved the swap in favor of a plan that could allow access to the stairs through a trail beside the state psychiatric hospital and Windward Community College.

City managing director Ben Lee said it could take a long time to win approval for that plan from the hospital and other property owners, and that it could leave some parking concerns unaddressed.

Lee said the land swap with DHHL would provide access to the stairs in the meantime and allow the city to require hikers to obtain permits, so their numbers could be limited. The committee left open the possibility of approving the deal later.

Susan Kopper, another neighbor who opposed the deal, said she put up a fence to keep hikers from trespassing through her back yard.

"I didn't know who was going to be in my yard at the end of the day when I come home from work," Kopper said. "It's the most frustrating thing."

But others say the stairs should be opened to the public as soon as possible, and that trespassing and other concerns can be addressed.

The Friends of Ha'iku Stairs, a group that supports hiking on the trail and backed the land swap, has collected petition signatures from thousands of people who want the stairs open. The group wants to help maintain the area. "We stand ready to do any type of volunteer work that is necessary and allowed," said John Flanigan, the group's chairman.

John Goody, another member of the Friends, said opening the stairs would allow the city to limit the impact of hikers.

Budget Committee chairwoman Ann Kobayashi said she believed Mayor Jeremy Harris was rushing to open the stairs before he leaves office at the end of the year.

Lee said the administration is merely trying to solve a long-simmering neighborhood dispute.

Councilman Romy Cachola said he believed the city could sell the 'Ewa land, in the Varona Village area, for more than the value of the Ha'iku property.

Lee said each property was appraised at $3.1 million.