City cuts down gate blocking beach access in Portlock

A new beach right of way on Portlock Road in Hawaii Kai was officially opened to the public Wednesday.

At least five police officers stood by as workers cut down a gate used to block access to a private beach path near 379 Portlock Road. Once the gate was removed, two yellow signs were installed listing the path as an “emergency response location” and making it open to the public.

Following the adoption of a Honolulu City Council resolution in March 2019, the city filed a lawsuit in Circuit Court to acquire the beach path through eminent domain. A recent court ruling allowed the city to take possession of the beach path for the public’s use.

The access is a win for the community, said City Council Chairman Tommy Waters.

“The dismantling of the gate and the restoration of public access signifies a win for the community,” said Waters in a statement. “It also allows, as is required by law, beach access for all Oahu residents and beach-goers. It is a great day when the rights of our community are upheld.”

Public access through the path has been a source of concern for decades. Ann Marie Kirk, a beach access advocate for the nonprofit Hawaii Kai Hui, has been working since 1997 to get the beach path accessible to the public.

“Today was huge for us to actually see the gate come down, to see the sign go up, and to acknowledge it as a beach right of way,” Kirk said.

Kirk, who has lived in the Maunalua area for more than 50 years, said the gate, which has been installed and removed a number of times over the last two decades, has been up for the last two or three years.

Wednesday was her first time using the beach access in years.

There are access lanes to the water on nearby roads, but the portion of the beach that the path near 379 Portlock Rd. leads to has essentially been cut off to the public because the rocky shoreline makes it difficult to walk from one portion of the beach to the other.

“Even with those lanes on either side, you can’t get through. It’s rocky, you’re walking through waves. … It’s unsafe. I don’t even walk it,” Kirk said.

Homeowners nearby had previously complained of theft, drug use, trespassing, urination and littering when the beach path was open to the public.

On Wednesday afternoon, a homeowner of one of the nearby properties along the now-public beach path filmed and yelled at some people who were walking toward the beach, saying they were not allowed on the driveway leading to the path.

The resident, who declined to comment for this report, filmed and yelled at Kirk as well.

“Today is a day of celebration for the community. It’s unfortunate … I continue to get harassed by a homeowner, and it’s unnerving, it’s unsettling and it’s unfair to the community,” Kirk said afterward. “We’ve done everything … we’re supposed to, and we still have to put up with this on a day of celebration.”