Kailuana Place Scrooges Deserve Humbug

Mele Kalikimaka and all that jazz! Had a good laugh when I read a newspaper comment by a resident complaining about how Obama's stay in Kailua was interfering with their access to the beach. What's hilarious is this guy lives on Kailuana Place -- the public road with a private, gated beach acess pictured to the right! They think nothing of locking out neighbors and visitors from "their" beach access all year long. But close them out for one week, and boy oh boy, they don't like it one bit.

The Honolulu Weekly ran my letter in response to the "Shrinking Beaches" article they did recently. I pointed out that the reporter left out the most important thing: the reason WHY nothing is being done to protect our shorelines, which is the split jurisdiction between the State and counties. Here's the link to my letter.

The Star-Bulletin will also be running my commentary on the public safety issue related to the gate above, which I blogged about a couple of weeks ago. Scroll down for that one about the medical emergency I witnessed -- which happens to be down at the end of the beach where the Obamas are staying for Christmas.

That's how exclusive parts of Kailua Beach have now become. You can literally close off an entire section very easily without even putting up gates or fences because THEY ARE ALREADY IN PLACE. In effect, Hawaii now has private beach areas for the rich and privileged -- or in this case, for the President and his family. I love Obama, but this man of the people should be using this opportunity to promote free and open access to Hawaii's beaches.

Hawaii Kai gate endangers surfers

After posting my account of emergency help for an injured surfer being delayed by a locked gate on Kailua Beach last Thursday, the Honolulu Advertiser ran this article by Suzanne Roig on Sunday. Excerpt:

Surfers want access restored

HAWAI'I KAI — Residents want the city to reopen a beach accessway used by surfers in trouble off the rocky coastline of the popular spot called China Walls.

The city closed the accessway six months ago because it was deemed unsafe.

But surfers and others say the closure in itself presents a safety issue. They say the access is vital as a "safety valve" for ocean goers who get into trouble, and allows them to safely get out of the water into a small cove in the steep, rocky cliffs...

Whether it's Kailua Beach or in Hawaii Kai, this is a tragedy waiting to happen... and why? Largely because some selfish homeowners value their exclusive "private" beach access over the public's safety.

Gates: Public Safety Threat

Today I was reminded why this battle against gates still matters. While jogging back from Kailua Beach, I saw three paramedics pushing a gurney down the Kailuana Beach Right of Way -- the only public access for a mile-long stretch of beach. The dirt path from Kalaheo Avenue is well over a hundred yards before you even reach the beach.

As soon as I saw the paramedics I knew there was a big problem. I had just come from the beach and didn't see anyone in trouble near the #89A Emergency Locater sign next to that access path. I did, however, notice a group of people further down by the area surfers call Castles, near the house where President Obama and his family stayed last Christmas. That was at least a quarter-mile from the public access.

So I told the paramedics about that and asked how they planned on pushing the gurney through the sand. I noted that there was a closer access on Kailuana Place, but it was gated -- the locked gate in the picture. All they knew was that a surfer was injured, and this was the closest public access to where the victim was. Apparently it was not a life-threatening situation... but what if it was?

The paramedics left the gurney on the path and strolled down the beach. One made a call and shortly after that another ambulance drove down Kailuana Place. I presume they were going to try to get someone to open the gate so they could transfer the accident victim to the second ambulance. All this took 10-15 minutes... if it had been a heart attack or drowning victim, those extra minutes could have meant the difference between life and death.

What's more, Kailuana Place is a public street. That's right -- our tax dollars pay for the upkeep of their road! But the gate is on a privately-owned piece of land. How nice of them to share it with their neighbors, eh?

Merry Christmas, indeed. If President Obama stays at the property down that end again this year, I hope someone will mention to him that the locked gates along Kailua Beach are a very real threat to the public's safety. Whether you have health insurance or not won't matter if emergency help can't get to you quickly!

"Shrinking Beaches" article in Weekly

Joan Conrow has a good cover story in the Honolulu Weekly about an issue I've been harping on for the past year. However, nowhere in the article does it ask WHY nothing is being done about the situation!

It's pretty simple really: as long as we have split jurisdiction between the State and the counties, there will never be a comprehensive long-term shoreline management plan. We need a Hawaii Coastal Commission that has the authority to enact statewide standards and the ability to ENFORCE those rules.

But we can't get there without interim steps, such as a joint State-counties task force to lay the foundation for such a commission. State Rep. Chris Lee introduced a bill that would have done just that. But Sam Lemmo, who works for the State DLNR, actually spoke out AGAINST the bill! And we didn't get any support from the UH Sea Grant people either... the same guys who have complained about the split jurisdiction problem. So what's their solution? More of the same: do studies and hope something changes...

Anyhow, here's the link to the Weekly article. At least the issue is getting more attention.

http://honoluluweekly.com/cover/2009/12/shrinking-beaches/

Turtle Bay forum Dec. 8

Tim Vandeveer, one of our Beach Access allies, asked me to pass this along for "Talk Story 2" on Tues., Dec. 8, (6:30 - 9 PM) at Kahuku High School Cafeteria hosted by Defend Oahu Coalition:

This is the second in a series of Community Forums regarding the future of Turtle Bay. The City’s Department of Permitting and Planning is reportedly very close to issuing final subdivision permits to the developer at Turtle Bay which will allow him to move ahead with the outdated plan for five additional hotels and one thousand more resort condominiums. The State Supreme Court is set to hear Oral Arguments regarding the Keep the North Shore Country case asking for a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.

The existing property is formally changing owners this month, who are reportedly working on a new business model for the resort. This is a crucial time to get updated about the current situation. Efforts aimed at building on plans for preservation as well as sustainable land use enforcement at City and State levels will also be addressed. Notable speakers invited to attend include: Governor Lingle, Representatives Abercrombie and Hirono, Mayor Hannemann, Turtle Bay Advisory Working Group Chair Bill Paty, Senator Clayton Hee, Councilmember Donovan Dela Cruz and Interim Developer for Kuilima Resort Company Stanford Carr. The moderator for the evening will be Dee Dee Letts, a member of the Ko’olauloa Neighborhood Board and longtime community activist.

If you want to Keep the Country Country, this is a must attend event!