Gov. Linda Lingle is paving the way for the final step in preserving the most accessible wild coastline on O'ahu for generations to come by asking the state Land Use Commission to reclassify the Ka Iwi shoreline from urban to conservation.

The 400 acres, now under state jurisdiction for the Ka Iwi Scenic Shoreline, is on the makai side of Kalaniana'ole Highway from Queen's Beach to Makapu'u. While the area is used for recreation in its natural state, unless its land classification is changed to conservation, it will not be safe from development.

The area has been the battleground for three decades as community groups fended off bids for hotels, golf course developments and housing. In November, the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board heard its first presentation from the state on what the land classification means. A second meeting will be at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Haha'ione Elementary School cafeteria.

"If the land remains classified as urban, there will always be the threat of development to this unique scenic beach and open-space treasure," Lingle said in a prepared statement.

"The community has worked to protect this area for future generations, and the action my administration is taking will support their efforts by helping to prevent any further development proposals."

The land, while zoned preservation by the county, has a state designation of urban, which could leave room for rezoning and development. In 2006, the state completed a $5 million improvement plan created with Ka Iwi Action Coalition support that placed utility lines underground, created a clearly marked trail to the Makapu'u lighthouse, placed parking inside the park and barred off-road vehicles from driving in the shoreline park areas.

The community praised the governor's efforts. At a time when a proposal to build vacation cabins on the land mauka of the Ka Iwi Scenic Shoreline is still being considered by developers, the community is looking at ways to make sure the land remains undeveloped, said Greg Knudsen, Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board chairman.

"It is a further step in the protection of those lands," Knudsen said. "The reclassification makes the state and county designations more consistent. The community could then be assured that the intent of the area will remain undeveloped."

Elizabeth Reilly, a member of the Neighborhood Board and founder of the Livable Hawai'i Kai Hui, a grassroots group formed to ensure growth and change is in compliance with the county's East Honolulu Sustainable Community Plan, said the community has tried to remain vigilant over the area ever since developers made their plans known, in 2007, to build 180 cabins on two parcels: one in a valley behind the Hawai'i Kai Golf Course and on land across from the entrance to the Makapu'u Lighthouse trail.

"The state is finishing a job that started 30 years ago by the will of the people," Reilly said. "By changing the designation on the makai side, it will send a message to land owners on the mauka side that this is an important natural resource and there is a movement to protect it."