New gate at Portlock brings years-old issue to forefront

A new gate blocking a path to the beach at Portlock has renewed a decades-old dispute over access to the ocean.

The locked gate, which sports a bright yellow “No Trespassing — Private Lane” sign, went up about two weeks ago, prompting an outcry from residents and surfers, who walk down the path to get to the surf break known as Seconds.

The dispute has an aspect of deja vu because the city moved to condemn the pathway nearly two decades ago to create a public right of way to the beach after a homeowner blocked it with a gate. But the condemnation never went through and the gate was later removed.

“This is the access way that has been used by the community for 50-plus years,” Ann Marie Kirk, a Maunalua resident, said Tuesday. “It should have been condemned, and the follow-through should have happened for a public right of way.”

She added, “We need to complete the work for the community so there’s no question. Our community’s rights to access the ocean shouldn’t be dictated by private landowners.”

The lane, in the 300 block of Portlock Road, belongs to adjoining property owners, including the trust of Bert Dohmen-Ramirez, who was at the center of the original dispute after he erected the first gate.

The Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board expects to take up the issue at its next meeting, 7 p.m. May 30 at Hahaione Elementary School.

“I have been contacted by a number of people already, and it seems to be a big concern,” said Natalie Iwasa, chairwoman of the board. “Given the nature of it, we want to take care of it as soon as we can, to try to solve the problem if we can.”

Dohmen-Ramirez, whose phone number is unlisted, could not be reached for comment. On the gate is a poster with a photo of litter including liquor bottles and a photo of a damaged fence, labeled as a “sample of our problems.”

Paige Altonn, a neighborhood board member who lives a few houses down from Dohmen-Ramirez and his wife, said she recently saw him in the roadway and introduced herself. She said she told him that she represented the Portlock district on the board.

“I asked him why he put the gate back up,” Altonn said. “He said, ‘I put that up for security.’ I said, ‘You have no legal right to put that up.’ He screamed at me and left.”

The pathway leads to one of the few sandy spots along that stretch of coastline. It is used mostly by surfers, local fishermen and a few beachgoers but doesn’t appeal to tourists because there is so little sand.

“This beach is the size of a postage stamp at low tide, and at high tide there is no beach,” said Altonn, who has lived on Portlock Road for 55 years. She said her family’s home has a similar alley leading to the ocean, and she has never tried to block access.

She predicted that by putting up the gate, Dohmen-Ramirez will bring attention and ultimately more people to the area.

“He is trying to keep people out of that beach access, but by erecting a gate he has done the exact opposite,” she said. “The people who fought this the first time around, their goal is to get the alleys condemned by the city or the state. They want public beach access signs at the top of every alley just like they did in Lanikai.”

Neighbors said the Dohmen-Ramirezes returned to their Portlock home several months ago.

“They only live here part time,” Altonn said. “While they were gone it was peaceful, it was nice. We had no issues, we had no problems.”

Kirk said she is hopeful that the board will take action to support public access.

“We went to the neighborhood board 20 years ago and got their support on this issue,” Kirk said. “Here we are 20 years later having to go through the neighborhood board again. We are very, very thankful for their support, and we hope to have it again.”