Campers increasing crime rate, Manoa residents say

By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

For years, people have lived at illegal campsites and in homemade shelters on public and private land along Wa'ahila Ridge, but recent wildfires, increased homelessness and a rise in crime in Manoa has prompted residents to seek law enforcement help to deal with the problem.

Gilbert Ikehara, above, says a trail at right, near his property line, is used by homeless campers and gave burglars access to his home. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

Peter Young, chairman of the DLNR, said there are health and safety concerns associated with long-term camping in the area, including sanitation and open fires.

"We have distributed trespass notices to some people that were camping up there on state land," Young said. "We are looking at a follow-up as well."

Tom Heinrich, former Manoa Neighborhood Board chairman and a member of the community group Malama O Manoa, said the ridge is heavily used by hikers, mountain bicycle riders and Hawaiian groups gathering flowers for lei. The ridge also is important because of the many cultural and archaeological sites that need to be protected, he said.

"We have public health and safety concerns," Heinrich said. "Burglaries, crime and the risk of wildfires."

The Rev. Michael Paul Milner, 64, who owns a 15-acre parcel on the ridge side above Kalawao Place, said he allows some people to use his property as a "home base" but denies they have anything to do with crime in the community. Milner declined to say how many people he allows to stay on his land.

Milner has owned the parcel for about 30 years and lives there and on leased land on Maui, but has never built a permanent home on the steep Manoa site. About six months ago, he was told by the DLNR to tear down some illegal structures, including a shack used by Japanese artist Hoshino Naoochika and his son for 14 years. Naoochika has since moved back to Japan.

Milner said the people on his property include students and medical-care providers, and that there are neither drugs nor illegal structures on the land.

"As the landowner, I'm responsible for the place, and it's important that I keep everything legal and there are no rules being broken up there," he said. "You can sleep on the ground. That's not illegal. You can put a sleeping bag out there. That is not illegal. If you build a structure, that is illegal. If it is permanent, they say tear it down. Everything they have asked me to tear down, I have always complied."

Wa'ahila Ridge, which rises above Manoa Valley on one side and St. Louis Heights and Palolo Valley on the other, stretches from Dole Street near the University of Hawai'i to the Ko'olau mountains. Wa'ahila Ridge State Recreation Area sits at about the halfway point, and hundreds of people frequent the scenic area every weekend.

Last June, a fire broke out at a campsite of homeless people about a half-mile down a dirt trail from the state recreation area. Firefighters could only reach the area on foot, which was at least a quarter-mile over rough terrain from the nearest hydrant. A fire department helicopter was called in to drop buckets of water collected at Noelani Elementary School in Manoa. The helicopter crew had to be careful to avoid the power lines that run up the ridge.

Hawaiian Electric Co. spokesman Jose Dizon said the utility is always concerned about potential problems that could affect electric service to its customers, and wildfires on Wa'ahila fall into that category.

Dizon said HECO's wooden poles are not treated with fire retardant, and a fire would disrupt service.

"If something would happen, there is another (power) line that would automatically come on," Dizon said. "There is a backup."

Gilbert Ikehara lives on Kalawao Place next to a dirt trail that goes up the hillside. "Any hour of the day or night, we hear people walking and talking or yelling as they go up the trail," he said. "It is really bad. My girlfriend can't change in the master bedroom. The straw that broke the camel's back was the burglary."

In September, Ikehara's home was burglarized and two Japanese swords taken. He searched area pawn shops for the antique items, but they were never found.

Ikehara was just two doors down the street at the time, visiting his parents, and said he would have seen anyone coming and going on the dead-end street. He believes the burglar entered his property from the trail.

"Many residents on the street are old, and they have been burglarized," he said. "It is a danger, and they don't feel safe in their homes."

At the December Manoa Neighborhood Board meeting, board member Richard Fassler said that most of the criminal problems come from "squatters" living on private property along the ridge.

But Milner insists that isn't true. "As far as thieves living up there, that is way off," said Milner, who heads the low-key Church of Friendship. "Most people into stealing that I've met like to live as easy as possible. Few of them would have the energy to hike way up that mountain. It takes somebody that really appreciates nature and wants to have their own peace and solitude to put that much effort into just getting home at night. They have more character than that."

Police Capt. Marie McCauley said the department has had several calls for service in the area. Officers were told by Milner that the people on his property were caretakers keeping watch over the land.

McCauley said officers have investigated, and there is no proof at this point that people living on the property are committing any crimes.

Ikehara said he is concerned about how many people are living on the property, and that they don't disturb boulders, sending them crashing into homes below.

"(Milner) said he is going to continue to allow people on his property to camp," Ikehara said. "It worries me because I don't know who they are."

In 1997, HECO planned to place new power lines along the ridge, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation declared Wa'ahila one of the nation's most endangered historic places. HECO has since dropped plans for the project.

At the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, security guards have seen an increase in the number of people living in the hillside just off campus, according to UH spokesman Jim Manke. The guards say some are rummaging through trash bins at night.

Darlene Hein, chairwoman for Partners In Care, a coalition of service providers and organizations for the homeless, said she is not surprised that more homeless people camp on Wa'ahila.

"People are being pushed out of everywhere," Hein said. "There are a lot of people living above St. Louis Heights and Diamond Head. Lake Wilson is becoming a problem."

Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.