The City and County of Honolulu will have to halt further demolition of the Ha‘ikū Stairs until the court decides on pending litigation.
Friends of Ha‘ikū Stairs, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the stairs, sued the city. The group says officials did not follow proper environmental procedures when they decided to remove the stairs.
The lawsuit was rejected by a judge earlier this year, but Friends of Ha‘ikū Stairs appealed that decision.
The Hawaiʻi Intermediate Court of Appeals has now granted a temporary injunction to stop the city from further removing structures on the controversial hiking trail.
The court will allow the city to finish removing some stairs from the top of the trail. They have already been detached, making conditions extremely dangerous to the public.
But Inessa Loving from Friends of Ha‘ikū Stairs says it’s such a small portion that she considers the ruling a win.
"The city has started the demolition while the case is still in the courts. So this injunction just preserves the status quo and says that don't do that until the court has a chance to look at all the evidence and make the final decision. So it's not the final decision yet. It's a temporary stop, the work order, which I think is fair and that's exactly what we were hoping for," Loving said.
It will be months until the court makes a final decision on the case.
The World War II-era military installation climbs along a ridge of the Koʻolau mountains.
The decision to remove the stairs was made in 2021 due to liability issues and complaints about trespassers from nearby residents.
