By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

At long last, the discussion has been made public.

Kaua'i Mayor Brian Baptiste has pulled the blanket off what has been rumbling and grumbling through the local community for years: The effect that high-end gated communities have on Island culture.

Big money estates, the gradual erosion of public access to traditional recreational spots and the overall impact of outside millionaires on the Kaua'i fish-and-poi lifestyle have become a political hot button, but this is a whole new level with much higher stakes.

Kaua'i County Council candidates in recent elections have been grilled on their positions on "development," which used to refer to hotels but now means mega-houses with concrete walls and security systems popping up on old sugarcane land.

But now, Baptiste has drafted a bill to ban gated communities on Kaua'i. The measure would ban gates, guard stations and the like which prevent access to private roads serving five or more homes.

It's high time we started talking about this on every island.

On Maui, a new gated community built on what was formerly windblown hills of scrub brush and kiawe-tufted sand unsuitable for agriculture sold out before all the homes have even been built.

On Moloka'i, millionaire John McAfee broke hearts and hope when he went from nice neighbor buying computers for public schools to real estate speculator by auctioning off a largely undeveloped ahupua'a to the highest bidder. That's not quite a gated community, but a gate nonetheless.

In speaking of his bill, Baptiste said, "I envision our island with integrated communities where people of various socio-economic levels and cultures can live together without gates or barriers that hinder access. ... In this island paradise, communities should be welcoming and accessible to everyone."

A lofty goal, but is that even possible?

The truth is, there are gated communities all over these islands; ones with the curling brass monstera leaf gates and security kiosks and ones with invisible gates that are sometimes even more impenetrable. Your perception of a gated community depends on which side of the gate you're on. Mid-priced condos in the flatlands have gates. Public housing complexes have gates and security kiosks. Clusters of homeless families on the beach have measures that keep outsiders at bay. No matter which level of the socio-economic scale you occupy, there is always a class of people you would love to keep away from your hale. No matter which level of the socio-economic scale you occupy, there are places in Hawai'i where you are not welcome.

That's just the way it is.

But is it right? Is it what we want?

It's about time we talk about this.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.