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 speakers pressed DLNR on how improvements will affect the tightly constrained neighborhood below the trail and on measures to manage the expected increase in visitors. Members repeatedly raised the need for a reservation or permitting system, more parking options, and restroom capacity at or near the trailhead; DLNR said it plans a reservation system and a stewardship program but does not intend to provide restrooms.

Details of the proposal and concerns

DLNR's project includes acquiring an additional 20-foot easement across private land to widen the trail in a lower segment, recontouring to move runoff off the tread, installing signage and boundary markers, and launching a community-based stewardship program. The department said it identified the two World War II-era pillboxes (Lanikai pillboxes) as historic resources and does not propose changes to them; the State Historic Preservation Division concurred that no historic properties will be affected.

Zoll said visitor counts collected by trail stewards and cell-phone data inform the management plan. The committee was shown that stewards recorded high single-day counts nearing 900 users on some peak days and an average closer to the low hundreds on typical days; DLNR noted data gaps because steward counts are not 24/7. "There are more hikers in the morning than there are in the afternoon," Zoll said of the steward counts, noting the data guided where stewards are deployed.

Council members asked how the project will prevent hikers from trespassing on adjacent private property and whether trail work could increase sediment or other impacts to homeowners. Zoll said the preferred trail alignment brings the path away from the ridge edge and that sustainable trail measures aim to reduce sediment transport. Council member Cordero pressed how mini-watershed measures would change flow to abutting properties; Zoll replied the designs are intended to remove water from the trail at frequent intervals to reduce downstream sediment delivery.

DLNR also described outreach and an education campaign; condition e of the CD1 requires the applicant to implement a trail scheduling and reservation system that includes closure times to allow vetted Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners access when appropriate. The department said it plans volunteer stewardship and outreach to encourage alternative transportation to the trailhead, such as bus use, and to advise visitors about limited parking.

Committee response and next steps

Committee Chair (committee title in the record) recommended the CD1 be advanced and noted the improvements will likely increase trail visitation and neighborhood impacts; the resolution was amended to CD1 and reported out for adoption without objection. Members asked DLNR to return for oversight briefings on reservation-system implementation and community impacts. DLNR said it will seek a conservation district use permit if the SMA permit is granted and expects initial construction to focus on the lower, most eroding segment.

Community input: Several council members and public speakers emphasized they want stronger coordination with the city on parking and roadway enforcement. Representative Lisa Martin (state representative, Kailua/Waimanalo) filed testimony and was noted by the chair as a supporter of the trail improvements. DLNR said legislative capital funds were provided for the project and the agency hired consultants PBR Hawaii to develop the management plan and environmental assessment.

Ending: DLNR told the committee it will proceed with the permit conditions in CD1 if approved, including the scheduled reservation system and stewardship program; council members asked to be briefed as those systems are implemented.