June 18, 2015
Residents’ frustration with Maunawili Falls hikers has grown
Maunawili residents are bracing for another busy summer, anticipating an onslaught of visitors by the busload along with local hikers passing through the otherwise quiet neighborhood to get to the Maunawili Falls Trail.
Frustrations have mounted since the state removed its signs a year ago and relinquished oversight of the popular hiking trail — leaving residents to deal with people wandering around looking for the trailhead.
With no government signs, one resident put up hand-painted replacements, said Maunawili Estates Community Association member Chris Nakamatsu.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources informed the community of its bowing-out in July, Nakamatsu said, adding that the gist of the notification was: “It is not our trail.” Puzzled by DLNR’s move, Nakamatsu said, “After 18 years, it is not your trail?”
The 11⁄2-mile hike starts near homes in the Maunawili Estates subdivision and runs through private land to the waterfall, which is situated on state land.
The community sees 1,000 to 2,000 hikers weekly. Yet there is no steward, no security, no parking, no bathrooms and no trash pickup.
In October, DLNR informed the community that the private land belongs to HRT Realty, a subsidiary of the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Trust. A 1986 conditional use permit with the city allows the public to use the trail and protects public access to Maunawili Falls.
DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife Oahu Branch Manager David Smith said the state agency “decided to take the signs down because we have no agreement” with landowner HRT. Plus, Smith said, “We didn’t want the perception that the state controls the land.”
Even so, Smith said, DLNR is continuing to do some maintenance work on the trail.
The trail’s popularity comes with problems created by hikers who leave trash in the neighborhood and on the path, use residents’ bathrooms and garden hoses with or without permission, and park in front of driveways.
Smith and residents agree that social media and the Internet have caused the foot traffic on little-known trails to grow “at a rate we’ve never seen before.”
“All of a sudden, trails that were quiet little areas have become very congested and see a lot of use,” he said. Maunawili Falls, like Manoa Falls, “is very popular. … People want to go to a waterfall.” The problems occur when there is an “urban interface with these trails.”
Residents deal with problems related to that “urban interface” on a daily basis. One woman, whose house is on a corner lot, said she was surprised one day to find several tourists lined up in her yard to use her outdoor bathroom.
The trail itself, which is often muddy, has widened and is deteriorating due to overuse, residents say.
Last summer, the Hawaii Tourism Authority monitored usage for one weekend, counting 714 hikers in two days (417 on July 5 and 297 on July 6).
In addition, hikers occasionally get stranded in darkness. Nakamatsu said in August 2014 alone the city reported that the Honolulu Fire Department conducted 13 rescues on the trail.
The hiking trail was part of a deal cut with Royal Hawaiian Country Club for a golf course when the land was subdivided by former landowner H.K.L. Castle Trust Estate.
The falls area “has always been landlocked,” Smith said. “There never was an established access. People would sneak through yards, culverts and drainage ditches. That was a big problem for the community, too.”
Maunawili Falls is also accessible by way of a trail that starts at a scenic lookout near a hairpin turn on the Pali Highway, but that path increases the hike to 21⁄2 miles and the lookout is fitted with fewer than a dozen parking spaces.
A 2014 study conducted for DLNR included an analysis of possible solutions to the area’s hiking woes.
According to the report, the “alternative that best resolves community concerns is to construct a remote 85-stall parking lot and comfort station in a historic area known as the Queen’s Retreat.
“Although this is the most expensive alternative considered, it has the best opportunity for a successful fee-based parking lot. With the assistance of local historical interest groups, this area could be further developed as a first-class historic park by showcasing the historic structures and promoting the cultural significance of Queen Liliuokalani’s summer retreat,” the report said.
The estimated cost: $6.36 million. No funding source was identified in the report.
Also, even if area residents support the Queen’s Retreat idea, it would require permission and cooperation from landowner HRT.
HRT Realty’s vice president of real estate investment and community affairs, Corbett Kalama, was unavailable for comment.
Smith said HRT is trying to come up with a master plan that would link trails in Waimanalo, Maunawili, Kawainui Marsh and Olomana, which may resolve some problems tied to access points and parking.
Such a trail system would require cooperation with the state and the landowner.
“There are a bunch of pieces … we need to get the linkages put together,” Smith said.
The state has a bit of leverage it can use with the landowner in the form of House Concurrent Resolution 130, passed during the 2015 legislative session.
The resolution directs DLNR to work with Royal Hawaiian Country Club to develop a plan for the management and maintenance of state-owned Old Government Road, which once connected the Pali with Waimanalo, because portions of the road appear to be within the boundaries of the Royal Hawaiian golf course property.
DLNR has been directed to work with the club to find the ownership status of all portions of the road and whether any access easement over the road was granted to the golf club for any part of the pedestrian trail to the falls.
DLNR is tasked with submitting a report on its findings and recommendations to the Legislature before the 2016 legislative session convenes.
“We want to fix this thing,” Smith said. “We want to provide access. We’re strongly on the side of public access. We want people to go hiking. We’re committed to make that work.”
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