A lawsuit by the Friends of Haiku Stairs to block the removal of the once-legally accessible steel steps built along a sheer ridge line above Kaneohe has been denied.

On Tuesday, 1st Circuit Judge John M. Tonaki granted summary judgment on the city’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit outright.

“Basically, the decision was that the judge found that the city does not have to conduct a new environmental impact statement and a new supplemental environmental impact statement,” Tim Vandeveer, an environmental lawyer representing the Friends of Haiku Stairs in its suit, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, “and that the city did not improperly segment the project, the proposed action, the removal of the stairs.”

The Mayor’s Office also responded, saying the outcome of the case was clear-cut.

“The plaintiffs in the case argued, among other things, that the city had not conducted the proper environmental review before proceeding with removal of the stairs,” Ian Scheuring, the mayor’s deputy communications director, said via email. “Judge Tonaki, ruling from the bench, disagreed with that argument, found that the city had fully complied with Hawaii’s Environmental Policy Act and granted judgment in favor of the city.”

Filed in August, the 50-page lawsuit contended the city had not updated or completed the necessary environmental impact studies required to legally demolish the World War II-era stairs, and had therefore violated basic Hawaii Environmental Protection Act rules.

The city began planning for removal of the stairs in 2021, citing safety concerns, liability costs to the city, trespassing/neighborhood disturbances and invasive species.

Meantime, Vandeveer said Tuesday’s court ruling was “obviously very disappointing.”

“We are planning on appealing this decision,” he added. “Once the order is issued, we have 30 days to file a notice of appeal, so we are planning on doing it as soon as possible.”

Moreover, the Friends state that another action was revealed in court Tuesday — namely, that Kualoa Ranch was interested in taking possession of the Haiku Stairs.

Kualoa Ranch could not be immediately reached for comment on that assertion.

Still, Friends President Sean Pager said more information about the involvement of Kualoa Ranch had not been revealed by the city or its legal team. But Pager said the possibility of Kualoa Ranch taking over the Haiku Stairs had arisen before, following a meeting with Mayor Rick Blangiardi earlier this year.

“The Friends of Haiku Stairs and some other community members had a private meeting at Honolulu Hale on Feb. 3 with the Mayor and the administration team,” he said. “And at that meeting we were trying to convince the mayor that it would be a shame to destroy the stairs and this historic property, and he told us ‘we’re not actually going to destroy the stairs, we’re going to preserve them.’”

He claimed Blangiardi said that “‘our plan is just to move them to a better place,’ and added ‘we’re going to move them to Kualoa.’”

“That was the first time that we heard of it,” Pager said.

But on Tuesday the city refuted that allegation.

“The city does not have any agreements with Kualoa Ranch regarding the Haiku Stairs,” Scheuring said.

On June 1, after a nearly monthlong request for bidders, the city opened just one bid for the demolition project — to be overseen by the city’s Department of Design and Construction — initially estimated at $1 million. The Nakoa Cos. Inc. offered to do the work for $2.26 million.

But in a June 29 letter, the city awarded Nakoa a more than $2.34 million contract — roughly $800,000 above the Kapolei company’s initial bid submission.

“The city’s contract with the Nakoa Cos. is clear that the contractor is responsible for both removing and disposing of the stair modules,” Scheuring said.

As to whether Nakoa has an agreement with Kualoa Ranch over the future use of the Haiku Stairs, the city could not say.

“The city is unaware of any agreement between the Nakoa Cos. and Kualoa Ranch regarding the potential future use of the stair modules,” Scheuring said, “but under the terms of the city’s contract with the Nakoa Cos. for the removal of the stairs, such an agreement would not be subject to approval by the City and County of Honolulu.”

Meanwhile, in a written statement, the mayor lauded the ruling.

“We are very pleased that Judge Tonaki granted summary judgment in our favor,” said Blangiardi, “and we will proceed as planned with the removal of the Haiku Stairs.”

Since 2021, Blangiardi and the City Council have favored a plan to permanently remove the structure that over the years has switched ownership between the Coast Guard, the Board of Water Supply and ultimately to the city.

In 2022 the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation became the new steward of what for years was a legally accessible staircase — known by visitors and locals alike as the Stairway to Heaven, with its spectacular views and unique mountain hiking experience — but which has, of late, become restricted property.

Demolition of the metal staircase — first built by the Navy as a wooden ladder system for communications equipment access in the 1940s and later replaced by metal stairs with railings that steeply work their way to the top of Haiku Valley and the Koolau mountain range — was to begin at the end of 2022.

Friends has promoted saving the Windward Oahu landmark via managed access of the site.

Pager previously told the Star-Advertiser that the Haiku Stairs could be a “guided, managed, curated experience” similar to the city’s Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve that might involve online reservations, fees and even video safety briefings required for viewing before hikers venture up the stairs.