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Author's Statement (7/24/03):
There has been considerable argument in recent days over Backyard Oahu's
identification of the location of Haiku Stairs, namely the road it can be
accessed from. In short, we have received requests to remove any and all
directions that would assist hikers in finding Haiku Stairs. While Backyard Oahu is dedicated to hikers (whether they decide to do something illegal or not), we want to be sure you respect the residents' right to peaceful enjoyment of their homes. Therefore, please read the comments below before you decide on whether to go or not. Remember: 1) Haiku Stairs opens officially and LEGALLY sometime this summer/fall (2003) and 2) You are hiking illegally if you decide to hike Haiku Stairs. If you would like to make a comment, pro or con, you are encouraged to do so on the discussion forum. Visit: http://forum.backyardoahu.com. Author's Update (6/03/04): Well, the date for the official August 2003 opening of Haiku Stairs, has come and gone and we are no closer to being able to climb it. In fact, the effort has taken a few steps back this year. Unfortunately, support for the Stairs was too weak to prevent resolutions banning access from successfully passing through the Legislature. Because of HCR199 & SCR213, which passed and were adopted in May 2004, the State has revoked the final access privileges the City & County of Honolulu had to its own Haiku Stairs. Therefore, even caretakers from Friends of Haiku Stairs are now banned entering the Stairs to perform maintenance work. HCR199/SCR213 is not nearly as caustic as Rep. Ken Ito's bill (HB1748) in which he attempted to dismantle the stairs by creating a published law to that effect. Thankfully, that bill was deleted in committee in January 2004. (He later came up with HCR199/SCR213 which, as mentioned earlier, did pass.) Here are the specifics about HCR199/SCR213. The two do not comprise a "bill for an act" (like HB1748 was), but rather are "resolutions" adopted by the Legislature. The effect is a lot "tamer", if you will. The State of Hawaii defines a resolution as "a measure expressing the will, wish, or direction of the Legislature. It does not have the effect of law." That being said, HCR199/SCR213 are resolutions which direct the state agencies involved as landowners to revoke access the City & County has to the Stairs until it complies with the following: - all usage permits are secured - the issue of liability is resolved - determination of who pays the H-3 access road maintenance costs - the H-3 access road use permit is re-zoned for recreational use - formulating a plan for preserving/maintaining the valley's cultural sites The four state agencies listed in the resolution are: - Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL) - Department of Transportation (DOT) - Department of Land & Natural Resources (DLNR) - Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) This also urges DHHL to slow down and not get into any agreements with the C&C before everything else is done. Presumably, this is to keep the DHHL from making any land swap deals with the C&C involving Haiku Stairs until it takes care of everything mentioned above. The legislature wants to hear from all four state agencies by December 2004. It potentially stalls any opening well into 2005 (knowing how slowly government agencies work together). That's because the state agencies only need to report on their findings and actions planned by the December 2004 deadline. The cancelling of permission for the C&C to enter Haiku Stairs could continue well into 2005 or until whatever year the C&C complies with the state's requirements. While everything demanded of the C&C in this resolution should be handled, in light of the mass traffic the Stairs and Valley will be subject to, it was preferable for hikers if the Legislature adopted a bill/resolution that more or less commands the C&C bureaucracy to complete this process in (perhaps, or less?) three months, tops. Right now, it's open-ended request which leaves the ball in the C&C's court to get its act together. Below are the "meaty" paragraphs of the HCR199/SCR213 resolution: BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the Senate concurring, that DHHL, DOT, DLNR, and OHA are requested to not issue any easements to the City for access to Haiku Valley and the "Haiku Stairs" until such time that all required permitting, necessary approvals, and conditional agreements are identified by the respective agencies and adhered to by the City including but not limited to an indemnification agreement, a memorandum of agreement to share the cost of maintaining the H-3 access road, requirements for preservation of cultural and burial sites, and a change in the Conservation District Use Permit for the H-3 access road which is presently limited to maintenance and without provision for recreational use which must be approved by the Board of Land and Natural Resources; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that DHHL is also urged to honor the requirements requested by its sister agencies before finalizing any agreements with the City; In light of this, it is my honest opinion that Sacred Falls Trail will open long before Haiku Stairs will. Therefore, do not plan to hike Haiku Stairs anytime soon. Just keep out of Haiku Stairs - there are many other trails on Oahu to choose from. From: John Goody, Friends of Haiku Stairs This is a comment on the situation at Haiku Stairs. As you know, and have now reported on your site, there is great consternation in the neighborhoods where people park and pass through to sneak into the stairs. Some hikers have been rude, abusive, and thoughtless, which has stimulated some (but not all) the surrounding neighbors to the actions you mention regarding towing of cars, etc. We are working hard to make the stairs a long term, sustainable hiking and educational resource, and such bad feelings are especially counter productive to our collective long term success. Within a couple of months there will be an "official" entry point with parking at Hope Chapel. In the meantime, we are asking folks not to use the stairs, for a couple of reasons. First, of course, the trespassers are creating a depth of bad feeling in the community, which in the long term will be detrimental. We need the community's support for the stairs and an eventual park in Haiku Valley that will provide great hiking, as well as a real trail head for the stairs. Secondly, there have been so many users of the stairs that, when people step over the side to allow passing, vegetation is being trampled and killed, including some listed rare native plants. Where plant cover has been killed on steep terrain, there is now gullying, which in places is undercutting the stairs. To change this practice, we will be posting signs and handing out brochures asking climbers who step aside to allow passing to step over the rail with one foot, and place that foot back on a metal portion of the stairs, rather than the ground. This will avoid further impact to the surrounding terrain. Later this summer, we'll be having another maintenance work day on the stairs to try to halt the erosion, and repair the damage already under way ; we will also continue the effort to remove alien plants from along the stairs, to protect the native plant communities that are still holding on (I'll let you know in case some of your subscribers would like to volunteer). So, in essence, I'm asking you and your subscribers to help by being patient, and not going up the stairs until they are open, which should be within two months, by my (unofficial) estimate. Then we can make legal use of the stairs, and restore some good will in the community that we will need in the years to come. This is a great web site, and over all a real service for hikers. Thanks for helping us pass the word about conditions on Haiku Stairs. Regards, John Goody Friends of Haiku Stairs |