The future of Ha'iku Valley, with its Hawaiian and military historical sites, is before the state Legislature this week with lawmakers considering a bill to create a cultural preserve and education center there.

The House Water, Land, Ocean Resources and Hawaiian Affairs Committee voted 8-0 yesterday to advance House Bill 2704. Three Senate committees will discuss the companion Senate Bill 2727 at 2:45 p.m. tomorrow in Conference Room 414.

The bills call for establishing a commission that would set policy for and have oversight of a Ha'iku Valley Cultural Preserve.

The measures have widespread community support, said Rep. Ken Ito, D-48th (Kane'ohe), who heads the Water, Land, Ocean Resources and Hawaiian Affairs Committee.

"This cultural preserve will really enhance Kane'ohe and protect traditional cultural landscapes," Ito said, adding that the area has a high potential for educational purposes. "It's going to be a treasure for the Windward side."

The valley has cultural and historic importance to Native Hawaiians and is renowned for its archaeological sites, according to the bills. But the valley's ownership is split among several entities, which places the resources at high risk.

"Preserving the valley's cultural and historic resources and educating the public about these resources are of paramount importance," the bills say.

Tucked up against the slopes of the Ko'olau Range in Kane'ohe, the site was home to a military radio station from 1942 until 1997 and is known to have taro lo'i, a heiau and burial sites. Native and endangered species are also present.

Recent history there has been tied up in controversy over the Ha'iku Stairs, a 3,922-foot metal stepladder to the top of the Ko'olau Range. The ladder was repaired in 2003 by the city for public use.

Before the city could open it, as many as 200 trespassers a day would reach the area through neighboring properties, clogging streets with parked cars, littering, and arguing with residents.

Some residents think the city, which has jurisdiction over the stairs, will dismantle the bottom segments of the stairs.

City spokesman Bill Brennan was unable to verify that, but said the city has security at the stairs to keep people from climbing it.

Mahealani Cypher, a member of the Ko'olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club and the Ko'olau Foundation, said if the stairs are dismantled, neighbors would be less likely to oppose the reserve. A charter school has leased some of the old facilities and a farmer is growing crops there, Cypher said. The community, civic club and the foundation have created a plan calling for a passive park and education center that would offer programs, she said.

The bills are part of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs legislative package and the agency has agreed to work with the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which owns much of the land in the valley, and Kamehameha Schools to secure an access that would be acceptable to neighbors, Cypher said.

"All of those different entities have to come together plus the Legislature has to support it, plus the governor has to agree to cut a couple million out of her North Shore acquisition to allow Kane'ohe to have a little piece of the action," she said. "It's a work in progress."

Residents, Naval Radio Station personnel and community leaders have called for the area's preservation for more than 20 years, said John Flanigan, a member of the Friends of Ha'iku Stairs. The Friends have not taken a stance on the bills but Flanigan said he supports them and so does former Navy radio operator, David Jessup, who has a Web site documenting his stay there at www.davewjessup.smugmug.com. "We're big on the military history and (Cypher's) people are big on the Hawaiian history, when you put those two things together, it's a no-brainer that it ought to be developed into a passive park," Flanigan said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.