Honolulu City Council calls for removal of Haiku Stairs

A measure introduced at the Honolulu City Council is calling for the removal of Haiku Stairs, which has been hotly debated for years over neighborhood disturbances and trespassing by hikers seeking to complete the illegal Stairway to Heaven hike.

The resolution, introduced by City Council member Esther Kiaaina, comes after $1 million was included in the city’s operating budget for the removal.

Kiaaina said the resolution will allow for more public input into the issue beyond those who testified during the budgeting process.

“Given the history of this, and the complexity and the passions on both sides, I felt that that was an inappropriate avenue for public discussion and discourse on it,” she said.

“I made a commitment at the outset that I will ensure that all voices on this issue were heard.”

The ownership of Haiku Stairs was transferred from the Board of Water Supply to the city in July 2020. Since then, the city has been trying to decide how to manage the stairs, with options ranging from obtaining a private vendor to manage access to the trail to removal of the popular attraction.

With the popularity of the illegal hike soaring due to social media and even through the game show “The Price is Right,” the Honolulu Police Department has had to step up enforcement.

Between March 14 and March 23 of this year HPD issued 93 citations for trespassing and made six arrests during an operation that focused on hikers illegally attempting to climb Haiku Stairs.

An environmental impact statement issued in January 2020 estimated it would cost about $986,000 to remove the stairs. The Council budgeted $1 million in this year’s budget to plan and carry out removal of the stairs.

However, Mayor Rick Blangiardi is not required to release funds for items that the Council adds to the budget. That means that even though the removal of the stairs is included in the budget, that does not guarantee it will occur.

A statement by Department of Parks and Recreation Director Laura Thielen did not indicate any definitive decision about the fate of the stairs.

“It became apparent that balancing the terms of the possible concession, its impact on the surrounding community/public facilities, and the easements necessary to control access to the stairs is extremely difficult to achieve,” she said.

“We believe there are solutions out there that can best balance the desire to maintain parts of the stairway for recreational use, while reducing the impact to the surrounding community which has dealt with the adverse effects of this closed trail for decades, impacts which should not be ignored.”

City Council resolutions are nonbinding so even if the Council were to pass Kiaaina’s measure, it would not mandate Blangiardi release funds to remove Haiku Stairs.

Kiaaina is hoping to have the resolution to remove the stairs considered in a public hearing this month. It is expected to be heard in a Council committee meeting in the third week of July.