The city bought the area across from Haleiwa Beach Park decades ago through condemnation, intending to expand the park. It sat as untended brush until adopta-park volunteers made it useable.
"My husband put in the adopt-a-park paperwork two weeks before he passed away,” said plaintiff Cora Sanchez, who took over coordinating the volunteer efforts when Tony Sanchez died. “He took it upon himself to get the weed whacker and go down there."
A mayor’s bill submitted to the Honolulu City Council wants to put the land up for sale to adjacent property owners.
"On regattas, that place is just choke with cars, we’re taking away public access for the people, for the community,” said plaintiff Steve Baldonado, a frequent park user and clean-up volunteer.
Interested bidders include Andy Anderson who has said he’d build a hotel, and Kamehameha Schools which would use it to aid access to its Loko Ea fishpond.
"It’s not about who is trying to acquire it, it’s a much more fundamental principle,” attorney Jim Bickerton said. “We have never seen public beach park for sale before."
Mayor Peter Carlisle’s office told KHON2 they can’t comment on pending litigation, but before Monday’s lawsuit was filed by Save Haleiwa Beach Park Coalition, the mayor had responded to one of the plaintiffs by email:
“He said the city believes that neither a special management use permit nor an environmental assessment is required for the proposed disposition of city property," Bickerton said. “OK, let’s see what the judge says about that."
The bill itself that would enable the sale was deferred at council. The measure would require the private owner to still provide a park setting.
“There’s a huge difference between a private park that exists at the sufferance of a commercial venture and a public city park," Bickerton said.
The plaintiffs allege more suits could be coming and say a Budget Department listing it acquired cites more than 100 other remnant and surplus parcels the plaintiffs fear could follow suit.
“This list includes beach park land at Makaha, Chinaman’s Hat and many places around the island, other surf spots on the North Shore,” Bickerton said. “We need to establish a principal now that you cannot close public beach parks without getting the right permits and doing it correctly."
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
