Kauai program’s role
in access dispute is probed
LIHUE >> The Kauai County Council has called on Mayor Bryan Baptiste to explain of why a group used the name of his favorite county program, Ka Leo O Kauai, in an access dispute with Hollywood film producer Peter Guber.
Council members told Baptiste last week that they are concerned that the county could be sued by Guber because a group of activists used the program to plan a campaign to try to block Guber's sale of his Kauai ranch on Papaa Bay. The property is in escrow with a sale price reported to be around $30 million.
The activists, who used the name "Mayor's Ka Leo O Kauai Beach Access Committee" in a purported "legal advertisement" they placed, have been pressing Guber to allow them to use a road through his property to reach Papaa Beach.
Baptiste said the group of activists was using the name without his permission, but acknowledged they had organized themselves at Ka Leo meetings.
"I can't control personally the actions people take on their own," he said.
Ka Leo was created by Baptiste immediately after he took office. It consists of ongoing community forums all over the island.
Council Chairman Kaipo Asing and several other members of the Council questioned whether the county could be sued if activities set up at Ka Leo meetings caused damage.
"If someone files a lawsuit, they're going to name the county because the county has the deepest pockets," said Councilman Joe Munechika.
Last month, a group calling itself "The Mayor's Ka Leo O Kauai Beach Access Committee" took out the ad. That was followed by a demonstration on Dec. 28 at which four members of the group were arrested for misdemeanor trespassing when they tried to cross Guber's property.
Guber, former head of Columbia Studios and now president of Mandalay Pictures, responded by filing a lawsuit against the group in federal court in Honolulu, charging them with "title slander." The ranch is for sale, and a false claim about a right of way across the property could scare away a prospective buyer, the lawsuit contended. Kauai County was not named as a defendant.
Guber ranks among Hollywood's most successful producers. His films include "Flashdance," "Batman," "City Slickers," "Terminator 2," "Prince of Tides," "A Few Good Men," "Groundhog Day," "Sleepless in Seattle" and "Philadelphia." He bought the ranch on Kauai in the mid-1990s.
Bill Young, one of the organizers of the group, was at last week's Council meeting but did not speak.
Papaa Bay, considered one of the most beautiful places on Kauai, was used as the location for the film "Six Days, Seven Nights," a story set in Tahiti.
The issue of whether there is a public right of way to Papaa Beach has been in dispute for the past two years since Guber attempted to purchase a dead-end piece of county road that enters his property.
Residents of Aliomanu Estates, a neighboring subdivision, opposed the sale, claiming the county should keep the road and extend it all the way down to the beach at Papaa Bay. There already is an access route to Papaa Beach, but it involves a trail down the face of a steep bluff.
There is no clear record as to whether there is a public road.
