Niu Valley is a place where grandmothers still make jelly from fruit they grow in their little yards. It is a place where retirees rake their lawns and then chase down every errant leaf that went from their tree to the street because that leaf is their responsibility.

If you've been there for 10 years you're still the "new folks" on the block because most of the neighbors bought their homes brand new in the 1960s and never left. When people plan big parties, they tell all the neighbors in advance with notes that say, "If we get too loud, call us first, not the police, OK? Thanks!" And there's often a P.S. inviting you to drop by and eat.

It is a nice neighborhood. Not swanky, but genteel, warm and well-mannered.

But there is a fight brewing down my street.

The Waldorf School wants to move its high school classes onto the 2.5-acre Niu Valley campus that houses pre-school through eighth grade students. It makes sense. The Waldorf School was granted the Niu property in the 1960s by Clorinda Lucas, whose family once owned the valley. The high school is on leased property in Kahala near the fancy Zippys. The high school has outgrown the campus, they say. Better to own than to rent, right?

Except the people who own houses around the grade school don't want the high school to be built. They say they've put up with enough imposition over the years with the grade school. Flutes at 8 in the morning, the dizzying whoosh of SUVs during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up, rude parents parking willy-nilly during weekend events, things like that.

The neighborhood board voted to oppose the expansion. The Niu Valley Community Association circulated a petition in opposition to the high school. Residents testified at the Department of Planning and Permitting about their concerns. When the project was approved, community members took the ruling to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

It's been like this:

Waldorf says, "We want to work with our community."

The community says, "We don't want a high school."

Waldorf says, "Tell us your concerns."

The community says, "We don't want a high school."

Waldorf says, "We'll hire a traffic monitor and make the new building eco friendly."

The community says, "We don't want a high school."

One side won't take no for an answer, the other won't say yes.

The anger runs deep on both sides, but so far it hasn't erupted. No shouting matches, no middle fingers, though there have been protest signs on the perfect little lawn across the street from the school.

And then the Waldorf School sued the neighbors. Not all the neighbors, just the 20 whose names are on the appeal. A clause in the lawsuit leaves room for more names to be added later once Waldorf finds out who they are.

The Waldorf permit has been stuck at the Zoning Board of Appeals since February. Three members of the five-member board recused themselves for various reasons and the board has been unable to attain a quorum. Waldorf representatives say they had no choice but to sue. They're out of that Kahala property in a few years and if they don't start building the high school in Niu Valley soon they'll be stuck.

The first version of the suit asked for damages and attorneys' fees. The 20 neighbors, most of them retirees, several of them around 80 years old, say they were scared. The amended version, handed to them after a lawyer offered to help them fight, didn't include the explicit demand for money.

Yesterday was the annual Waldorfaire, with jugglers, face painting, food booths and lots of traffic. The retirees named in Waldorf's lawsuit put on their shorts and tennis shoes and stood outside the school gate in protest.

They handed out fliers that said, "Your support of Waldorf indirectly helps them sue us. We invite you to join the neighbors of Niu Valley in peacefully and respectfully protesting the intimidation Waldorf is bringing to its own community."

Some people attending the fair came up to ask questions, some said "Right on" or waved a shaka, many just walked on by.

I personally am not affected one way or the other. My house isn't right next to the school, though I'm close enough to hear those flutes.

But what affects everyone in Niu Valley, and really, everyone in Hawai'i, is the threat of being sued for saying no; the idea that you could go through government channels to protest a big change in your neighborhood, and an organization — in this case, a school but maybe in another case, a developer or big business — can sue you individually for speaking your concerns, signing your name to a paper and asking for an appeal.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.