HONOLULU — The Friends of Haiku Stairs’ recent legal injunction to stop the city’s demolition of the World War II-era staircase, above Haiku Valley and the H-3 freeway in Kaneohe, will be decided upon in a different state-level court.
During a June 7 status conference in their case, 1st Circuit Senior Environmental Judge Lisa W. Cataldo directed that the Friends’ May 31 “request for an injunction pending appeal” — related to its rejected 2023 lawsuit, the first of two, in which an appeal was later sought — must now be filed with the state’s Intermediate Court of Appeals, according to Justin Scorza, the Friends’ vice president.
“(Cataldo) said she didn’t believe she had jurisdiction because it was on appeal, and thought that the appellate court would be the right court to file it in,” Scorza told the Honolulu Star- Advertiser by phone.
He added that the group had filed its case with the appellate court Monday.
The Friends’ delayed court action follows a suspended state hearing held in May over a related appeals case involving the “Stairway to Heaven.”
The group’s appeal to the state Historic Places Review Board first involved a May 14 closed-door hearing to address the appeal of the state Historic Preservation Department, or SHPD, approval on April 9 of the city’s planned demolition of what the Friends deem a protected, historic landmark.
A subsequent hearing was supposed to include the board’s final ruling in the matter by May 31.
But Scorza said the Friends’ lawyer, Tim Vandeveer, and group president, Sean Pager, were later informed by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DlNR) that the board’s hearing would not be held due to a member’s recusal from the proceedings.
In DLNR’s one-page, unsigned letter drafted May 23, it states that “this leaves the board without the minimum number of remaining members necessary to make a decision in this matter.”
“The board is therefore not able to do anything further in this non-judicial appeal until one or more additional members are appointed to the board,” DLNR’s letter states.
According to Scorza, the state historic review board — which is authorized for seven members — has only four serving members on the board, as three vacancies remain unfilled by the governor.
“The review board is powerless until the governor appoints replacement board members,” he previously told the Star-Advertiser.
This week the Friends’ effort to save the Stairs also turned toward the state’s top elected official.
On Thursday, the group sent an email to its volunteer supporters, asking them to urge Gov. Josh Green to intervene and stop the city’s demolition of the stairs as well as fill vacancies on the historic review board.
The Friends sent Green a formal letter, too, saying that “a miscarriage of justice will occur unless you intervene.”
“Right now, the city is about to destroy the Haiku Stairs even though the full historic review process required by state law has not been completed,” the letter reads. “State law grants you the power to fix this failure of due process and ensure that the city’s plans undergo the proper and necessary review.”
The group’s letter also requested the governor take one of two actions in this matter: either overrule the city’s demolition permit or suspend the demolition until the state historic review board is able to reach quorum.
“As a candidate, you took a bold position in support of saving the Haiku Stairs. All we are asking you to do now is ensure that the state’s carefully constructed historic preservation laws are followed as intended,” the letter states. “The Stairs are one of the most significant historic sites from World War II and could be a world-class recreational asset.”
“Saving the Stairs could be one of the defining legacies of your governorship. Will you help us?”
But on Friday the governor’s office told the Star- Advertiser it will abide by the authority legally granted to local government.
“The City and County of Honolulu and state courts have made their decisions regarding the Haiku Stairs. Having served a rural Hawaii island district as a legislator, Governor Green fully understands, appreciates and supports the home rule kuleana of the counties,” the governor’s office said via email. “As the court- and city- approved removal of the stairway is in progress, any appointments to the Hawai‘i Historic Review Board would not have a timely effect.”
Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s administration — which called for the Haiku Stairs’ removal due to public-safety concerns, city liability costs, trespassing and disturbances to nearby residents — has stated ongoing legal challenges will not halt the city’s nearly $2.6 million demolition project.
The work to remove the staircase — to be done by the contractor The Nakoa Cos. via a Hughes 500D helicopter and roughly a half-dozen ground workers set to hoist 664 steel stair modules — is expected to take up to six months to complete, weather permitting.
“Official start date would’ve been April, tracking for a completion date around late October,” Ian Scheuring, the mayor’s deputy communications director, previously told the Star-Advertiser. “Lots of things can impact that, including severe weather conditions, but as of right now the timeline has not changed.”
