Access Victories Spur Fear Mongering

Wouldn't you know it -- now that Gov. Lingle has signed the vegetation legislation to help stop oceanfront property owners from obstructing lateral beach access, certain developers are trying to scare people into rebuilding their homes CLOSER to the sea as soon as possible! This, despite ample evidence that sea levels are rising and beaches are eroding at faster rates wherever homes are nearer to the ocean.

A Kailua realtor who cares about preserving our beaches and public access forwarded an email to me that was apparently written by John Michael White. In it, he claims it is likely that the State will impose new shoreline building setbacks that could be 500 feet from the high water mark. Really? Where did he get those numbers from? For starters, setbacks are established by the county councils -- not the state. Secondly, the strictest setbacks that were passed by Kauai took into account sea level rise and possible erosion. If the setbacks seem like they are far back, it's for good reason: the recommendations were based on years of data and study.

Yet John Michael White doesn't give a damn about protecting our beaches or interfering with the natural sand dunes that are necessary to maintain healthy beaches. Here's what he wrote:

"Considering the above, I again remind all shoreline landowners of
the importance to obtain permits and build, install improvements
as soon as possible, otherwise you may have a rude awakening in
the future that your opportunity to build what you once could've
built on your private property, near the shoreline, may be lost....."

Yep, his only concern is for the "opportunity to build" regardless of the impact it will have on existing homes around that property or the beach itself. We've been seeing this happen on Kailua Beach, where older homes are having their views cut off by new homes that are being rebuilt left and right.

You know what this tells me? We're winning the battle of public opinion, and making progress with both the counties and State Legislature in our efforts to preserve shoreline access. That's what is scaring developers like John Michael White.

Well, eat this JMW: the Ka Iwi shoreline has been reclassified to conservation land too, and the Turtle Bay Resort expansion plans have been stopped for now until a new environmental impact study is done.

You can help us keep up the fight for beach access by clicking on the Donate button at top (right side of page) and making a small contribution. Mahalo for your continued support!

Here's a link to the vegetation legislation article and the Ka Iwi reclassification, both courtesy of Pacific Business News... btw, you should subscribe to PBN or sign up for their free email alerts if you want to track what's happening in business here.