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Stairs were never intended for public use

Neither were Diamond Head, Lanikai Pillbox or many other popular island hiking trails.  Plus, in 2003, the City & County spent $900,000 to repair the Stairs in order to reopen them for recreational use.  So, we’ve already put taxpayer money into making this a public trail. 

 

Public recreational use is incompatible with a residential neighborhood

The Stairs are on empty public land, they are surrounded on all sides by empty publicly owned lands.  The closest house is about 1/5 mile away.  And there are roads on both sides that bypass residential neighborhoods and would allow public access without disturbing residents.

 

Residents have suffered too much from trespassing

We don’t have to destroy a cherished recreational asset and historic site to stop trespassing.  That’s a false dichotomy.  Trespassing was not a problem when the Stairs were legally open under the Coast Guard.  Up to 20,000 people climbed them per year, and there were no problems then. 

 

Need to remove Stairs to save money spent on security and rescues

Managed access will generate revenues that will cover all those costs.  Removing the Stairs won’t stop people climbing the ridge, it’ll just make the things more dangerous—leading to more rescue calls, not less.  Most hikers now go up the back way to reach the summit views atop the Stairs. That’s a much more dangerous alternative.  There have been over a dozen rescues from Moanalua Middle Ridge in the past two years.  We’ve closed a safe way up to the summit and are forcing hikers to into danger at taxpayer expense.

 

First responders lives are put at risk from Stairs rescues

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Additional Stairs-Related Talking Points:

Cherished Kamaʻāina Asset.

 

For Residents, Not Visitors. The majority of hikers climbing the Stairs during the Coast Guard years when public access was legal were Hawai‘i residents—not tourists. Controlled public opinion polls today show that a majority of O‘ahu residents want to save the Stairs. Public testimony over the past two years has overwhelmingly supported this position with more than 90% of the 5000+ public comments favoring preservation. A broad array of community organizations have similarly come out in support the Stairs, including the Sierra Club, the Hawaii Trail and Mountain Club, the Engineers and Architects of Hawaii, and the Ko‘olau Foundation.

 

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No Cost or Risk for City. Managed Access can be a zero cost, zero risk proposition for the City. All expenses associated with reopening the Haʻikū Stairs, including operational management, repairs and maintenance, and insurance would be covered through private donations and user fees. The City would be fully indemnified against liability. Surplus revenues could be reinvested in the community.  

 

Immediate Trespassing Controls. Interim measures to control trespassing can be implemented while the details of a managed access regime are finalized. A Permitted Interaction Group (PIG) formed under the auspices of the Kāneʻohe Neighborhood Board has already identified commonsense, low-cost solutions to improve security and curtail trespassing. Similarly, steps to control invasive species and address safety concerns should be undertaken immediately. The Friends of Haʻikū Stairs stands ready to resume its kuleana over these issues in partnership with government and community stakeholders.

 

Removal Will Not End Trespassing:

 

Hikers Will Continue to Climb the Ridge. Removing the Stairs will not prevent hikers from climbing the southeastern ridge of Haʻikū Valley. Images of the panoramic vistas the Stairs afford are widely promoted on social media, and “the Stairway to Heaven” mystique will continue to stoke demand to visit this place. The City’s proposed partial removal will only eliminate the safe and easy Stairway access toward the summit, as BWS’ 2019 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) admits: Because the City plans to remove only the Stairs modules while leaving the supporting anchor pillars bolted in place, the remnants will function as an attractive nuisance: Climbers will attach ropes to this ready-made scaffolding and scramble up the mountain. Even if fewer hikers attempt this climb, they will do so at greater safety risk, heightened environmental harm (causing erosion, spreading invasive species, trampling endangered native plants) and perpetuating the City’s liability exposure.  

 

Moanalua Is a More Dangerous Alternative. Already, hikers have been thronging to the far more dangerous Moanalua Middle Trail. This is a much longer route to the Stairs summit with steep drop-offs and badly eroded footing.

 

Removal Will Increase Existing Problems. In sum, claims that removal of the Stairs will end the problems attributed to them rest on a series of false narratives. In fact, removal will not only fail to curb these problems, it will make most of them worse: Removing the Stairs will increase risks and taxpayer liability, not reduce them. It will lead to more rescues, more erosion, increased harm to native species, greater spread of invasive species, and continued trespassing.

Removal Risks & Liabilities.

 

City’s Current Budgeting Process Is Deficient. The estimated removal cost of $1.3 million is questionable. This contradicts the City’s own earlier estimate of $4-5 million in the 2014 Ikaika Anderson Task Force Final Report. Moreover, many legally required safeguards and mitigation measures remain unaccounted for due to the incomplete nature of the 2019 FEIS (see below). In short, the City is rushing unnecessarily into a budgetary black hole. Taxpayers island-wide will be stuck footing the bill for another poorly-planned government project. 

 

Partial (or Full) Removal Not a Solution. The partial removal option is thus an expensive, risky suggestion that will not solve the problems associated with the Ha‘ikū Stairs and will make many of them worse. These issues need to be evaluated and addressed under the environmental review process. Doing so is legally required and will ensure public disclosure of environmental impacts, adequate planning to mitigate those impacts, and transparent assessment of costs.    

 

2019 FEIS – Limited Scope & Outdated.

 

2019 FEIS – Incomplete Analysis. The 2019 FEIS also failed to fully evaluate the costs and implications of removal. For example,

 

Final Action Taken Under the 2019 FEIS.

 

Federal Permits Required for Stairs Removal. Furthermore, even if the 2019 FEIS did suffice to meet the requirements of the Hawaii Environmental Policy Act (which it does not), additional environmental review would still be required under federal law due to federal permitting requirements that removal implicates. The 2019 FEIS itself explicitly acknowledges that a Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) permit must be obtained for the helicopter flights to remove the Stairs modules. Other federal permits will likely be required under the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, and National Historic Preservation Act. Federal permitting may, in turn, trigger the environmental review requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), which would entail additional review beyond the requirements of state law.

 

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Managed Access is the Best Option. A comprehensive environmental review is not only legally required, but it would provide an appropriate opportunity to take stock of available options. When the full costs and implications are evaluated, we are confident that the City will agree that the logical solution is legal, managed access. Managed access provides the best long-term solution to trespassing. It can fully address the concerns over the Stairs without the costs and risk of removal. It would also bring lasting benefits to the community.

 

Native Hawaiian and Environmental Experts. A

 

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Trespassing, Unauthorized Access. L

Historical Monument.

 

Join Community Stakeholders. We hope that the City will join with us and community stakeholders to realize this vision.