Vote Today (Again) To Oppose Removing The Haʻikū StairsThis one takes two minutes.
In less than 44 hours, the Housing and Economic Development Committee will vote on a Resolution to remove Haʻikū Stairs.It is our best understanding that council members are likely to pick their battles and give this one to Councilwoman Kiaʻāina unless you remind them why it is so important they do not.We have 24 hours, maybe 36 – depending on when each of these five take a last look at the numbers:
Esther Kiaʻāina
Calvin Say
Radiant Cordero
Augie Tulba
Andria Tupola
Here’s the counterintuitive part: it’s more productive for you to do it now, than to do it well. With one exception: Make sure to choose OPPOSE!
Councilmembers are busy also and may not read your words, but they will see a total vote count, so what we need most are your numbers.
Here’s the link to enter your written testimony: https://www.honolulu.gov/ccl-testimony-form.htmlHere are the fields to populate in your testimony.
- Meeting Date: July 20th, 2021
- Committee: Housing and the Economy
- Agenda Item: RES21-154
- Your position on the matter: OpposeCompose one additional sentence so they know you’re not a robot. You may want to copy a few points from this list. 2 minutes makes all the difference!
As per the findings of the BWS’s DEIS:
- “The Haʻikū Stairs was built in the 1940s, is defined as a historic property per §6E-2, HRS, and retains its historic integrity.” (Vol 2, p. 701).
- Why would you destroy a historic structure, especially if you could repair it for less?
- The Haʻikū Stairs represent one of the safest hiking trails in Hawaii. There having been no documented serious injuries or deaths resulting from accidents on the Stairs
- Reopening the Stairs under managed access would provide unique, internationally recognized, educational, cultural, and recreational opportunities and save one of the world’s top 10 best hikes on the National Geographic Endangered Trails list.
- The Kāneʻohe Neighborhood Board resolved in May 17, 2017 to support reopening the stairs under a controlled and managed access plan that respects the privacy rights of residents of the Haʻikū Village neighborhood
- We have read the DEIS report and we agree that managed access (conveyance alternative) is by far the best alternative with a total score of 7 good as compared to removal with a score of only 4.
- FHS has a managed access plan in place that is in alignment with the recommended Poʻokela Street access route and can be adjusted to meet all the listed concerns.
- FHS has years of experience leading people on legal maintenance climbs on the stairs, carrying out repairs to individual modules, controlling invasive species, and mitigating run-off concerns.
- This is a real treasure. In other countries it would be put on a World Heritage List. There’s a win/win solution to effectively manage the stairs. We don’t want to lose it. I want my grandkids and great grandkids to be able to hike this trail some day and treasure the fantastic views.
Mahalo Nui Loa
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