Happy Halloween!

This "ghoul gate" is on Kailuana Loop in Kailua.

It's actually a public street that our tax dollars pay the upkeep on, but the homeowners own the "private" easement.

Well, BOO to them for locking out kids and surfers.

We hear people still climb over the gate, but they better be careful -- dig the sharp spikes on top!

And just a reminder: VOTE FOR CHANGE ON NOV. 4. Yes, we can!

Disney Resort Plans and Bumper Stickers

Two quick items: the "No More Gates" bumper stickers are in, and we'll be sending them out ASAP to those who already made donations. If you'd like one, just click on the Donate button at the right. Please email your name and snail-mail address to Rich Figel (figeli001@hawaii.rr.com). For every $5 contribution, we'll send you three stickers! Due to printing costs, we couldn't do full color. But these still look great in black, white and red. Special mahalo to Jennifer Eisenberger of Windward Designs for creating the logo and layout!

Second item: In today's MidWeek (Oct. 22), Bob Jones makes a very good point in his "Just Thoughts" column about the new Disney resort being built at Ko Olina in Leeward Oahu. BAH brought attention to the limited public parking at Ko Olina, which results in residents being turned away and denied access to beaches there when it gets crowded. However, we've been told that there usually are plenty of open parking spaces -- they just aren't open to Hawaii residents!

Bob Jones writes: "...residents should not roll over and play dead. This is an overdue chance to demand more beach access parking for the public in exchange for expediting permits. Ko Olina got away with much too little in the first go-round. We should demand expanded public parking. Why give away our shorelines to tourists as the recent developments at Kaanapali-Honokowai have done?"

I may not agree with Bob on other issues, but on this one I say, right on!

Coastal Zone Management Report: Ain't Our Job!

Guess what? The State Department of Land and Natural Resources, Deputy Attorney General Linda Chow, county planning directors and Coastal Zone Management got together to discuss public beach access issues at a June meeting... without informing the public or any of the organizations that have been involved with this!

So they recognize shoreline access has become a major problem in Hawaii, but they feel it's just a "private property rights issue" because of where the gates are situated. Hello, some of these gates are on PUBLIC streets such as Namala Place and Kailuana Loop in Kailua. True, the easements themselves are on strips of land that are privately owned. But if the homeowners want to make that "private" land claim, they should also pay for the upkeep on those streets and for private trash pick up. Those properties should also be taxed at the higher rate that homes on "private" lanes are supposedly charged, since they want to deny public access to the beach.

The report also acknowledges that climate change and rising sea levels are major concerns for the future. Yet if you walk along Kailua Beach, you'll see homes are being built even CLOSER to the ocean -- and no one in the City Council or State government is doing anything about shoreline setbacks on Oahu. We've seen what happens when homes are allowed to be built closer to the ocean in Lanikai and Kahala, where it has accelerated shoreline erosion and beach loss.

But, as with most things, people don't know what they have until it's gone. If you don't make your concerns known to our elected officials, you can say goodbye to free beach access -- and the beaches themselves. Meanwhile, one wonders what the State DLNR and CZM are actually doing with our tax dollars. Oh, that's right -- they're protecting "private property" rights while our rights to public shoreline access are ignored.

You can download the CZM report by clicking here...
CZM%20report.pdf

Another Oahu Beach "Off Limits" to Public

This article appeared in the Honolulu Advertiser on Oct. 6. Further down in the story if you go to the link, Waimanalo Neighborhood Board Chairman Wilson Ho says the public has been going to this beach for 20 years and is just hearing about this restriction now...

Bellows beach policy a surprise
Air Force says stretch some assume is open to public is off limits - By Eloise Aguiar, Advertiser Windward Writer

WAIMANALO - For decades the public assumed that Bellows Air Force Station beaches were open to local residents on weekends, but an encounter with military police there has revealed otherwise and community leaders are studying the situation.

Kim Falinski of Kailua said she was walking on the beach between Waimanalo Bay State Recreation Area and the public campsites on Bellows when she and other people were approached by a military man in uniform riding a four-wheel drive vehicle. He asked for identification and told her the beach was closed 24/7, Falinski said, adding that she asked for a contact person she might talk to but was brushed off. Rather than confront the man, she said she left.

"I'm not a community activist," she said. "I'm just a community member. I'm told it's closed 24/7 and I'm told by someone with a gun."

Click here for the rest of the story.