'EWA BEACH — Navy officials and the management at the Iroquois Point Island Club hope to have a tentative plan in place by December to give the public access to a scenic private beach on the gated community's property.

The beach has been closed to nonresidents since the Navy leased the property to a private real estate company four years ago.

State law requires all beaches to remain accessible to the public, and counties must make sure the public can reach the beach where private property dominates.

State and city officials had said earlier that the property is owned by the Navy, and state and city laws don't apply. But an Advertiser story in July about the closed beach led to a public outcry for its opening.

"It appears that by December, the Navy and Hunt (Development, the property manager) will have a proposal," said state Sen. Will Espero, D-20th ('Ewa Beach, Waipahu). "That's very promising."

The proposed policy is expected to lead to limited access for nonresidents and may involve either a "guest card" or check-in policy of some kind, according to elected officials who attended a meeting on the issue late last month.

WORKING OUT DETAILS

The meeting was attended by state Attorney General Mark Bennett, area politicians, Navy officials and the property managers — the Hawai'i Division of Hunt Development and Ford Island Housing LLC.

A letter to Espero from Donald D. Dodge, a captain and chief of staff for Navy Region Hawaii, confirmed that it is the Navy's intent to provide a joint proposal to state officials in December.

"I think everyone at that meeting recognized this has been an issue that should have been resolved when they first started opening up Iroquois Point to nonmilitary residents," said state Rep. Kymberly Pine, R-43rd ('Ewa Beach, Iroquois Point, Pu'uloa).

Details of the access plan still need to be worked out. Ideas being discussed include a guest card, a sign-in and recording of vehicle license numbers, Espero said. "It won't be just free in and out ... but nothing that would be extraordinarily inconvenient for the general public."

A BIG SELLING POINT

The Navy leased Iroquois Point, what was once the thriving Pu'uloa Naval Housing Complex of about 1,500 homes, to a private real estate company four years ago. The company now leases the units to the public.

Since then, nonresidents have been prohibited from using a sandy beach with a breathtaking view of Diamond Head that has been a trademark and selling point for what's now known as the Iroquois Point Island Club.

Bennett, the state's top attorney, told Navy officials and the property managers that while he appreciated their concerns about security, there could not be a beach access policy that discriminates between civilian residents and nonresidents, said state officials who were at the Aug. 20 meeting.

Bennett could not be reached for comment.

But according to Espero, Bennett told the Navy and the property company representatives that "what's available to the residents and their guests has to be available to the general public. There can't be two sets of criteria. Public access to the beach is public access to the beach."

State officials "made it very clear that it's not going to be acceptable to not have public access to that beach," Pine said.

The Navy and the property managers have concerns about maintenance and security.

The property managers cleaned up debris along the shoreline and installed beach cabanas and thatched palapas, or umbrellas, along the sand for sunbathers, as well as two sand volleyball courts and parking areas.

SECURITY ISSUES

Ford Island Properties is working with the Army Corps of Engineers and spending an estimated $10 million for a project to fight significant sand erosion that has been occurring on the Iroquois Point beach.

Security also is an issue.

"We want to find a way to meet the state's guidelines but still provide some kind of security to our men and women," Pine said, noting that the beach is at the mouth of Pearl Harbor. "But I think we can come up with something that the public can be happy with."

Navy spokeswoman Agnes Tauyan noted that the waters fronting the beach are known as the Naval Defensive Sea Area. "Pearl Harbor is a major fleet concentration area and is a key strategic location in the Pacific for military operations, so the Navy's concern is security for the Fleet," Tauyan said in a written statement. "Safety and liability are also of concern."

Tauyan said, however, that the Navy is working with the property manager and other interested stakeholders to come up with a plan that would "meet Navy security requirements and (Ford Island Housing) residential concerns, and accommodates some public access."

Those at the meeting are reviewing the guest card programs that exist for those who visit the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, Kaua'i, as well as other Naval installations that have public recreational facilities.

Tauyan, however, said a duplicate program could not be set up at Iroquois because it is not a military "morale, welfare and recreation" facility.

Hunt is the managing partner of Ford Island Housing. The other partner in the venture is Fluor Hawaii LLC, which signed the 65-year lease for the subdivision in June 2003.

A 'GOOD NEIGHBOR'

Steven W. Colón, Hunt senior vice president, said the managing companies are amenable to the idea of limited public access. "We understand the Navy would like to provide public access — as long as it can be done in a way that meets their security requirements — and several options are being looked at and discussed," Colón said in a written statement.

"We have been investigating ways to enable the public to access the area since we acquired the property from the Navy," he said. "We pride ourselves on being a good neighbor, and are committed to finding a way to allow the public to enjoy this very special area."

Colón said the managing companies and Navy officials are looking at different approaches used by the Navy and other branches of the military, "including whether "permits or passes or something else will work best."

Honolulu City Councilman Todd Apo, who sent an aide to the meeting, said he expects a formal agreement to be reached between the city and the leasing agent "in terms of what's going to be required from a parking and access standpoint." That's what the city has at other private property owners with large beachfronts, including the Ko Olina Resort and Turtle Bay Resort.

Apo is vice president of the Ko Olina Resort Association, which manages the beaches and lagoons at the West O'ahu waterfront property. At Ko Olina, association members pay a portion of the fees used to maintain the beaches, roads and parking lots that provide public access, he said.

MIXED FEELINGS

Joan Renth, an Iroquois Point Island Club resident, has mixed feelings about the pending change in policy.

Renth, whose husband is in the Navy and serving in Iraq, was strolling the beach last week with her children, Cameron and Caroline, and dog, Gus. It's something they do "almost every day, at least."

The privacy of the beach "makes us feel like we can just kind of hang out without there being crowds of people, which is kind of nice," she said, noting that it was a prime reason why her family chose to live in the development.

"There'll be more people, but I guess that's to be expected," Renth said.

"We'd love it just the same. We'll just have to find a spot for ourselves. It just might be harder to find a place."

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.