Posted on: Thursday, January 13, 2005
Ha'iku Stairs plan foiled
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
The opening of Ha'iku Stairs suffered another setback yesterday when City Council members learned that a proposal to swap Ha'iku Valley land for 'Ewa property would be illegal under city law.
The swap also would have provided land on which to build affordable homes for Native Hawaiians.
The swap, 52.7 acres in 'Ewa for 65.6 acres in the valley, would have given the city access to the stairs and given the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands additional land.
The idea behind the swap is that the DHHL would get the 'Ewa land and be able to use it to build affordable homes. The city, which has the land, does not have the ready money to build there.
The city land in 'Ewa is adjacent to an existing DHHL housing project.
The former home lands parcel in the valley then would be developed into a small nature park with parking available by permit. The permitted parking would give authorities a tool to limit legal access to the stairs and reduce the trespassing that bothers the nearby neighborhood.
But the City Council learned Tuesday from Corporation Counsel that the swap would be illegal because the 'Ewa land was purchased with money from the Housing Development Special Funds.
Proceeds from the sale or swap of that property would have to be used to develop additional housing, said City Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi, 5th (Makiki, Manoa, Kapahulu, Palolo).
Under that scenario, if the city got the land in the valley, it would have to be used for housing, not access to the stairs.
Ha'iku Stairs, a 3,922-step stairway up the Ko'olau Range, was refurbished by the city in 2002 at a cost of $875,000, but the popular hike remains closed because there is no access to it. In the meantime hundreds of people each week have trespassed through neighboring property to get there. The city installed security guards in 2003 to stop trespassers as access issues were being resolved.
Kobayashi said she will draft an amendment to the law. However, the soonest it could pass through the City Council would be March 16, because it must go through the legislative process, which includes three hearings.
City Councilwoman Barbara Marshall, 3rd District (Kane'ohe, Kailua, Waimanalo), said she was surprised by the news, which should have been disclosed long ago when the city and state were negotiating the swap.
Marshall said in hindsight opening the stairs long ago would have prevented the problems and cost of security guards.
Reach Eloise Aguiar at 234-5266 or at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.
