Council committee backs DLNR plan to improve Kaʻiva Ridge Trail, asks for visitor-management follow-up

The Honolulu City Council Committee on Zoning and Planning on June 26 amended and reported out Resolution 25-78 (CD1), approving a special management area major permit for the State Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to make physical improvements and implement a strategic management plan for the Kaʻiva Ridge Trail.

The measure advances a package of trail work and management measures DLNR says aim to reduce erosion, restore native vegetation and improve visitor safety along the ridge above Lanikai and Kailua.

DLNR Oʻahu Branch Manager Marigold Zoll told the committee the project covers roughly 4.6 acres of state land and adjacent easements and would use sustainable trail design—switchbacks, native-rock edging and revegetation—to reduce sediment entering nearshore waters. "The first phase of the project will center on the approach, the lower part of the trailhead and the slope," Zoll said. "That's what's contributing the largest volume of sediment load to the nearshore waters." The department said it already received capital project funds from the Legislature for a management plan and construction and that a final environmental assessment was published in February 2024.

Why it matters: Council members and community…