Papaa road on Kauai
remains in disputeA Kauai County report considers
the public's rights unclear
The public should not attempt to access Papaa Bay using the road that runs through Hollywood film mogul Peter Guber's Mandalay Ranch, a Kauai County report recommends.
"The public status of and the public's right to use this particular road is unclear at this time," concludes the report written by Big Island attorney Michael Matsukawa.
Access to Papaa Bay, considered one of the most scenic spots on Kauai, has become a major issue for beach access advocates during the past two years.
The study says there is a public road through Guber's Mandalay Ranch property to Papaa Bay.
But the study, released yesterday by Kauai Mayor Bryan Baptiste, concludes that although there are written references to a road dating to 1852, there are no maps or surveys showing where the road is.
It further says a court might have to decide whether the existing road is the original government road.
Guber touched off the dispute two years ago when he asked the County Council to allow him to purchase a remnant of an old county road on his property. The road continues to the beach, but whether it ever was a public road is in dispute.
When the Council refused to sell it, Guber offered to buy another right of way across a neighbor's land so the public could reach Papaa Bay. But Guber and the neighbor could not come to terms on a price.
The issue died down until last fall when a group of activists, acting under the auspices of Baptiste's Ka Leo community forums, put together a plan they hoped would open beach access.
Following a report that Guber had sold the ranch for $30 million and the deal was in escrow, the group, headed by activist Bill Young, bought an ad in the Garden Island newspaper entitled "Legal Notice." It cautioned the title company handling the sale that there is a public right of way across the property and that the buyer should be aware of it.
Guber's attorneys responded by filing a "slander of title" lawsuit against Young in U.S. District Court in Honolulu. The suit is still pending.
In December a group of environmentalists and native Hawaiians -- still acting under the banner of the mayor's Ka Leo program -- attempted to march down the road to the beach. Several were arrested for trespassing although the charges were later dismissed.
Guber is frequently described as one of the most influential and successful movie producers in Hollywood. He is the former head of Columbia Pictures and later headed Sony Pictures Entertainment. Since 1995 he has headed his own company, Mandalay Pictures. He bought the Papaa Bay property in 1998 after it was used as a movie set for "Six Days, Seven Nights."