Auntie Sarah’s banyan

NAWILIWILI — Auntie Sarah Kailikea, who is 92, cherishes a 108-year-old Chinese banyan tree by her property in Nawiliwili because of its rich history.

The tree was planted in 1895 by George Norton Wilcox, the founder of Grove Farm Co., among the largest plantations on Kaua‘i. It survived Hurricane ‘Iwa in 1982 and Hurricane ‘Iniki in 1992, and a brush fire in August of 2000. The tree lives today, and is still growing strong.

During a recent meeting of the Kaua‘i County Council Parks & Public Works Committee, Auntie Sarah asked the council to intensify efforts to protect the tree, small parts of which have been slashed, and to resolve an easement issue.

Auntie Sarah also asked the council to intervene in a 1978 settlement agreement forged between her and her late husband, Melvin David Kailikea, and the developers of the adjacent, 148-unit Banyan Harbor Resort.

Most of the tree is located on land owned by the resort, which is also located near Auntie Sarah’s home. Parts of the agreement involved installation of a fence to preserve the easement.

Today, only parts of fence remain, opening the way for people to trespass onto Auntie Sarah’s property located just off Nawiliwili Road.

On the first count, council vice chair James Tokioka and other council members told Auntie Sarah the county could only intervene if the tree were damaged, destroyed or relocated.

The tree is considered special partly due to its age and exclusivity, and is protected by county law.

On the second and third counts though, council members said they couldn’t intervene because the settlement is a private matter between the Kailikeas and Nawiliwili Joint Venture, the developer of the resort.

But the council is likely to take up the matter again to get further clarification on the care of the tree.

The tree was planted by Wilcox to guard against erosion, and is a living link to one of Kaua‘i’s most prominent citizens, Auntie Sarah told the legislators. She said she knew Wilcox when she was a girl, and remembers him fondly.

A committee was formed to take care of the tree, and a plaque, donated by Grove Farm Co., was embedded into a large boulder beside the tree.

The plaque honored Wilcox for having planted the tree, and named the Kailikeas as the ‘ohana (family) responsible for the care of the tree.

Auntie Sarah said the tree is a part of her family history as well, noting that Melvin first came across the tree in 1929. He was single at the time, and was helping to build the Nawiliwili Harbor seawall.

Auntie Sarah said he was amazed by the tree’s splendor and the strength of its spreading, tentacle-like branches. She married him in 1933.

The tree became the backdrop of the couple’s botanical garden, known as the Kauai Menehune Garden from 1963 to 1992, Auntie Sarah said.

The botanical garden operated on two parcels the couple had leased from Grove Farm. The Kailikeas owned a nearby lot they called their home, where Auntie Sarah lives with family members. She also has easement rights immediately by her home.

The botanical garden was the meeting place for some of the biggest entertainers from Honolulu from the 1950s and 1960s, Auntie Sarah said.

The tree was described in travel articles as a magnificent backdrop for the garden and its regular musical performances, she said.

In 1976, the tree reached a height of 110 feet, and covered almost an acre. The brush fire in August, 2000 posed a setback for the tree, as the fire, she claims, took away a third of it.

Chris Gampon, general manager at the Banyan Harbor Resort, said the fire might have been a blessing in disguise.

The fire removed part of the tree’s canopy, allowing sunlight through that has enabled the tree to grow back quickly, Gampon said.

“It is in the best condition I have seen it in since 1996, when I started here,” Gampon said.

Councilman Jay Furfaro said it was his understanding Banyan Harbor had stewardship of the tree, and that a law exists to protect the tree from injury, destruction or removal from the site.

Furfaro said he has yet to find the standards for a maintenance plan for the tree, but he noted it may be necessary to send a letter to Banyan Harbor encouraging resort officials to submit a plan to the county Planning Department whenever the tree needs maintenance.

The plan must then be approved by the council before works starts, Furfaro said.

Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura suggested a Kaua‘i arborist committee may need to oversee the health and well-being of the tree.

Gampon said the Banyan Harbor Association of Apartment Owners consulted with government officials before the cleanup of the tree last year.

Before the cleanup occurred, Banyan Harbor representatives got permission from the Kauai Outdoor Circle and a committee that formed to take care of the tree, Gampon said.

“We wrote a letter to the mayor (Maryanne Kusaka at the time) and the council to let them know what we planned to do,” Gampon said.

For the cleanup last year, the association hired a professional arborist to clean up the tree, he said.

“We cleaned debris, dead branches since the hurricane (‘Iniki) were picked up,” Gampon said. “We take good care of it. It is important to us.”

Gampon said he understood Auntie Sarah’s concerns, but noted that “we don’t have any argument with Auntie Sarah, but there is a difference of opinion.”

Auntie Sarah said she feels the resort operators have not done a good job caring for the tree.

A hole was cut through an area near the center of the tree after Hurricane ‘Iniki in 1992, to allow for work crews to repair hurricane damage at the resort, Auntie Sarah said.

During a recent visit to the tree, Auntie Sarah discovered fresh “slashes” in the tree. Broken glass chips littered the ground, a metal pipe about five feet long lay beside the tree, a rock wall by the tree had been buried, and a small pile of gravel sat beside the tree.

“They call this maintenance?” Auntie Sarah asked. “Everybody should leave this tree alone. Everybody should get out and let nature take care of its own.”

Auntie Sarah said the key to protecting the tree is protecting the easement.

The easement runs mauka from Auntie Sarah’s property, over parts of the resort, and makai to the banyan tree, a distance of about a quarter of a mile. The easement then leads to Lala Road by Kaua‘i High School.

The easement once cut a 20-foot-wide swath through the jungle. Today, parts of it have shrunk to 10 feet widths, made smaller by the planting of trees and grass in places by Banyan Harbor, Auntie Sarah contends.

Resort maintenance workers put in those improvements, apparently for beautification purposes.

Parts of the easement also have been obscured because parts of a fence that ran by the easement and over the resort grounds have been taken down by Banyan Harbor over the last 12 years, Auntie Sarah contends.

Auntie Sarah said she was told by Banyan Harbor representatives that parts of the fence were taken down due to damage by fallen tree branches, including those from ‘Iniki’s time.

The removal of parts of the fence and the planting of trees on parts of the easement have shrunk the size of the easement, she said. A possible consequence is that the legal easement could be erased one day, thwarting the care of the tree, Auntie Sarah said.

The Kaua‘i Museum has been given approval by Grove Farm to use the easement, to monitor the care of the tree and for other purposes, Auntie Sarah said.

The installation of the fence was tied to the 1978 agreement, and by right, should be up, but is not, she said.

“My husband insisted on putting up the fence to protect easement rights and to stop people from trespassing on our property,” Auntie Sarah said. The fence runs behind the Kailikea property down to Nawiliwili Road.

County officials said they can’t get involved with the settlement agreement because the matter involves private parties.

Auntie Sarah sees it differently, saying action by the Kaua‘i Planning Commission in 1977 that granted permits for the development of the resort specifically required the fence for the easement to be put up.

“Right there is where the county is involved, so the county can step in and do something about taking over the easement,” Auntie Sarah said.

Auntie Sarah contended the easement doesn’t belong to Banyan Harbor owners, but rather, it belongs to Eke Opunui through a Land Commission award. Opunui secured property in the area and the easement, which he later sold to G.N. Wilcox.

Council chairman Kaipo Asing said he played on the tree as a youth, has knowledge about the issues, and noted the easement belongs to Grove Farm.

During the council committee meeting, Auntie Sarah showed pictures of heaps of trash deposited on the easement. The trash was removed a few days before the meeting, though, she said. Small piles of wooden pallets and bricks sat on either side of the easement.

Furfaro said during the meeting he was concerned about debris and voiced a need to keep the easement clear.

Bruce Pleas, a Kekaha resident, contended pollutants in the ditch above the tree could be discharged during a storm and eventually find their way to the tree roots, potentially jeopardizing the health of the tree.

Yukimura said it may be necessary to do a study to determine whether there are pollutants in the ditch, although county officials said a spill doesn’t appear likely because the ditch is dry and clear and water would flow through it quickly.

Tokioka also said the council has no legal authority to intervene in the 1978 settlement agreement.

One section of the agreement talks about the Kailikeas agreeing to transfer a small portion of their lot in Nawiliwili to the developer.

In exchange, the developer agreed to transfer a part of its land, on which the resort sits, to the Kailikeas.

Tokioka said he wanted to knock home the point the county can’t intervene in the private, legal matter.

He asked the county attorney’s office to send a letter to Auntie Sarah reiterating that stand. Tokioka also asked that a 1990 county attorney’s opinion, which reflects that same sentiment, be sent to the Auntie Sarah as well.

In addition, Tokioka wanted to know whether the Planning Department has any responsibility in requiring maintenance plans be sent to the government before the tree is cleaned. Pruning the tree, however, doesn’t appear to require county permission, it was noted at the council meeting.

Staff Writer Lester Chang may be reached at mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net, or 245-3681 (ext. 225).