Located makai of Kalanianaole Highway between Sandy Beach Park and the Makapuu Lookout, the site is targeted for state ownership to protect it from planned golf-course development by landowner Bishop Estate, and to facilitate the citizen-initiated Ka Iwi State Park Master Plan drafted by the state's Department of Land and Natural Resources.
The proposed Ka Iwi Park is a visionary idea whose time has come. After years of fierce grassroots and legal battles at the county level over development in the area, the $20.4 million marks state lawmakers' recognition of the scenic and economic value of the entire Hanauma Bay-to-Makapuu coastline of southeastern Oahu, undoubtedly one of the most visited and admired natural coastal areas in the state.
When the plans for Ka Iwi Park are realized, residents and visitors will be able to enjoy a wide range of recreational opportunities badly needed in our time of rapid urbanization, including hiking, camping, picnicking, diving, swimming, surfing, shoreline fishing and whale watching.
Specific features of the site include a large blowhole, remnants of a Hawaiian fishpond and the King's Highway (a roadway predating the Europeans and the Kamehamehas), and the famous lava-rock landmark known as Pele's Chair.
This park will create an accessible dark-sky viewpoint for amateur astronomers and families to get up-close-and-personal with meteor showers, comets and other heavenly phenomena. Park plans include the clean-up of the large field of boulders dumped there by Hawaii Kai developers and will put an end to the destructive use of the beach area by off-road vehicles.
Most importantly the Ka Iwi Park will have the effect of creating continuous parkland from Koko Head to Makapuu Beach Park, and will ensure the scenic integrity of the entire area.
This coast has been under constant threat of development since 1971 when plans were unveiled for 10 hotels and five high-rise apartment buildings between Sandy Beach and Makapuu Point.
Over the years dedicated citizens groups such as the Save Queen's Beach Association, the Friends of Queen's Beach and the Sandy Beach Initiative Coalition have organized and successfully fought to block landowners' attempts to develop and exploit the area.
As the rest of Oahu has grown by leaps and bounds, the entire island community (including the tourism industry) has come to understand the extreme value of Ka Iwi's natural, untouched coastal landscapes. This was reflected in the Sandy Beach vote in 1988, when Oahu residents voted 2-to-1 against suburban development across from Sandy Beach Park, despite high amounts of pro-development advertising during the election campaign.
Credit for conceiving the park plan belongs particularly to Hawaiian anthropologist Marion Kelly, who in 1988 spearheaded the effort to convince the Legislature to request a park plan for Ka Iwi, and to Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Donna Ikeda, who, in the past few weeks, initiated the budget appropriation for park-purchase funds. Mahalo to both women.
We are a non-partisan, volunteer coalition of concerned residents, environmental organizations, native Hawaiian organizations, surfers, fishermen and city and state elected officials. We are working closely with state, county and community leaders to establish the park and preserve the priceless beauty of the Ka Iwi coast.
KIAC volunteers are committed to the idea that our community's future depends on the wise management of our island resources; and that our scenic and recreational resources are limited, even in Hawaii. Enlightened planning for - and investment in - these resources is our best hope for a healthy future, a healthy community and a healthy economy.
The opinions in View Point columns are those of the authors and are not necessarily shared by the Star-Bulletin.