Private driveway. No trespassing. Do not enter. No beach access.
Signs with these messages warn the public away from Paiko Peninsula in East Honolulu where one homeowner enjoys a luxurious residence that has been described as a "private island" between a lagoon and the ocean.
But really, most of the peninsula along with the coral road leading to it is state land. And that has produced a clash over public access and alleged illegal use of state property.
The homeowner, retired radiologist Garrett Saikley, who bought the home on a small piece of the peninsula in 2002, contends he is maintaining — with the state’s blessing — what an underresourced state Department of Land and Natural Resources can’t.
DLNR accuses Saikley of conducting unauthorized and illegal activities on state property dating back more than a decade despite warnings and enforcement actions.
Among the agency’s allegations are that Saikley cleared state land to use as a parking lot for commercial weddings, that he altered the sandy beach by adding boulders and landscaping, and that he installed signs on state land deterring public access to the road and beach used by surfers, fishermen and others.
DLNR’s Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands also claims to have received complaints regarding Saikley calling police and saying people on state land were trespassing.
"OCCL considers these violations serious in that they appear to be aimed at denying the public access to state lands," Michael Cain, a staff planner with the office, stated in a report submitted Jan. 9 to the state Board of Land and Natural Resources with a recommendation that Saikley be fined $38,250.
Saikley refutes DLNR’s claims and retained an attorney to contest them in a quasi-judicial proceeding.
There is no question that the unique location of the home adjacent to a state wildlife sanctuary has presented challenges for both Saikley and the state.
The area was once part of 618 acres of Kuliouou owned by Joseph Paiko Jr., who subdivided his land for residential development more than 65 years ago and gave some to the state as a gift. Paiko Lagoon and most of the peninsula owned by the state were designated a bird sanctuary in 1974.
Some area residents say problems over using and accessing state land on the peninsula only began after Saikley arrived in 2002.
Saikley, a Washington, D.C., native who retired from private practice in California, bought the home for $2.65 million, according to property records, and spent an estimated $700,000 to transform the house built in 1976 into a gem that Hawaiian Style magazine described as having a kitchen that can accommodate up to 250 guests.
Saikley has listed his home for sale on and off since 2007. The property, which has been marketed as a "stunning rare private beachfront estate … like your own private island," was priced at $9.75 million in 2007 and then $11.2 million in 2013. The listing was withdrawn in October after DLNR presented Saikley with alleged violations.
LENGTHY BATTLE
DLNR has had a contentious history with Saikley for more than a decade.
In March 2003 the agency investigated dirt mounds dumped along the lagoon’s edge, according to Cain’s report. An agency official reported that another occupant of Saikley’s home, Robert D. Carpenter, said the dirt was for filling in the home’s swimming pool and would be removed. Two months later DLNR saw the dirt had been spread out as part of landscaping the state land, the report said.
In 2004 DLNR documented that a "No trespassing" sign had been installed on state land fronting the beach, according to the report that also said Saikley was calling police and "alleging trespass for people on state land."
While remodeling his home, Saikley allegedly cleared an access road on state property for construction work without permission and had two construction dumpsters placed on state land after requesting a permit that DLNR didn’t approve.
Those alleged violations led DLNR to file a cease-and-desist order in August 2005, followed by an enforcement action in 2006. Saikley challenged that action through a contested-case hearing with an attorney. Settlement discussions ensued, though Cain’s report said no settlement or case decision was reached.
DLNR spokeswoman Deborah Ward said the agency can’t say what happened to the 2006 case or comment on the new enforcement action because Saikley has requested a new contested-case proceeding.
Lisa Woods Munger, an attorney representing Saikley, also reserved comment due to the litigation but refuted DLNR’s allegations in a Jan. 8 written reply to the agency.
DLNR initiated the latest investigation in January 2014 following complaints received in late 2013.
The agency said it found several improper uses of state land, including numerous "No trespassing" signs at the entrance to the state preserve and along the shoreline, boulders placed along the shoreline, curbing created on the state road using basketball-size rocks and vegetation cleared for a 3,000-foot guest parking lot.
DLNR officials also claim that Saikley’s home is marketed as a commercial wedding site at a cost of $5,000 and that the wildlife sanctuary has been used for event parking and professional photo shoots.
After being notified of the violations in mid-September, Saikley and Carpenter sent a letter to then-DLNR Director William Aila Jr. after meeting with Cain on Sept. 30.
"We want to assure you that we have worked very closely in partnership with and in compliance with your staff in helping you maintain and preserve the sanctuary land surrounding our home," the letter said. "We have tried very hard to act as good stewards, working in conjunction with your DLNR staff, to help you maintain and preserve the sanctuary. We have come to agreements with your staff based on a ‘hand shake’ and we have never received a negative reply from your staff. We have no intention of ever doing anything to destroy the sanctuary or to impede the public from lawfully accessing the beach."
On Jan. 8 Munger refuted DLNR’s allegations in a written response that claimed the rocks lining the driveway are allowed, the parking area was a long-existing turnaround zone not cleared of vegetation and that weddings have been held only for friends, family and neighbors.
The response also said Saikley or Carpenter put no rocks on the beach except for several 10- to 15-inch rocks mauka of the shoreline, and that they installed "No trespassing" signs along the roadside after discussing it with DLNR staff to replace missing state signs.
DLNR has signs fronting the lagoon and on inland portions of the peninsula that say entering the sanctuary is prohibited or that a permit is required.
Yet in a 2005 Honolulu Advertiser story, DLNR wildlife manager David Smith, who is involved in the current Saikley case, said those signs are out of date and that the sanctuary is open to the public except for fishing or camping. The DLNR signs also don’t apply to the beach.
Saikley explained in his letter to Aila that some of the signs that say "Keep out" and "No beach access" are on a privately owned portion of the road between the city’s paved Paiko Drive and the state’s coral embankment. This stretch of road is owned by four other homeowners, according to property records. However, the state said an easement attached to the four house lots grants public access to what Saikley describes as a private driveway.
Doris Moana Rowland, a property title researcher with DLNR, concluded that the four homeowners have an obligation to allow "unfettered" public access over the driveway easement, according to a memo that was part of the 2006 enforcement action against Saikley.
Saikley has claimed in recent letters and emails that legal public access to the beach fronting his home is provided by a city-designated lane farther Ewa on Paiko Drive and that there is no legal public access to the beach via the state causeway.
The lane does connect to the beach fronting the peninsula but only at lower tides. At higher tides the sandy beach close to Saikley’s house is separated by seawater from the city’s designated lane.
DIVIDED OPINIONS
David Loui, a lifeguard and lifelong East Honolulu resident, said Saikley appears to covet the state land around his home for his exclusive enjoyment.
"It’s a special place," he said. "It’s a real peaceful place."
Loui said he was on the beach about a year ago with his 4-year-old son when someone from Saikley’s home drove up and said sternly, "Hey, you guys can’t be in this area. This is private property."
Loui, who is Native Hawaiian and familiar with shoreline access rights, said he refused to leave and was then told the area was off-limits because it was a turtle nesting ground and that the person claimed to be managing the area under an arrangement with DLNR.
"I knew that was bull—-," Loui said. "I was pretty bothered by that, but for a person that doesn’t know any better, they are going to believe him. He’s chasing people out."
In another instance, Saikley emailed Paiko Drive resident Patsy Vasquez to ask that she not interfere with what he called erosion-control efforts deterring people from creating paths to the beach from the state road.
Saikley discouraged Vasquez from removing thorn branches Carpenter put on paths between invasive pickleweed.
"The purpose of placing those branches is to deter the public from creating paths across the embankment and destroying it," Saikley said in the email. "As you know, there is a public right-of-way down the street for the public to access the beach. Furthermore, it is illegal for pedestrians to cross from the driveway to the beach and vice versa. (Carpenter) has discussed this problem with the DLNR authorities and they have given him permission and encouraged him to do what he does to protect the embankment. DLNR is grateful that we assume their responsibility since they are short staffed and underfunded."
Friends of Saikley and Carpenter submitted letters to DLNR vouching for the improvements the two have made.
Waikiki resident Royce "Mac" McNeill said Saikley and Carpenter should be commended for their efforts instead of punished for them, according to a letter of support sent to Munger, Saikley’s attorney.
"Every effort on their part has been to improve the facilities and maintain the whole area in a pristine manor," he wrote.
Margaret Walker, a Portlock resident who also wrote a letter of support to Munger, said the area fronting the lagoon was neglected when Saikley and Carpenter arrived.
"These two community-minded fine individuals have created a low-key showplace out of a very neglected piece of property," she wrote. "They cherished that lagoon and would not allow anyone to put as much as a toe in there. I wish I could say the same for some of the abutting owners."
