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.

Beach Access at the 4th of July Parade in Kailua

It's one thing to talk about beach access, however I find it much more powerful to see people actually on the streets doing something about it! Here is a video put together by one of our members, Paulo de Azevedo. It really shows you the great signs, the crowds, and the tremendous enthusiasm we have in support of getting rid of the gates that block public access to the public beach. And we love the bagpipes too...



Mahalo, Paulo for doing a terrific job on the video! We'll also be using some of his footage in an Olelo program about beach access, which BAH is producing and will be airing on public access TV in a month or two.

Our Vanishing Beaches

Good editorial in today's Advertiser: "United effort needed to curb Kailua erosion." If we allow houses to be built closer to the shoreline as is happening right now, it could accelerate the erosion problems. Yet NOTHING is being done by the State or City Council!

Why? Same reasons nothing has been done about beach access: lack of leadership. Here's a telling excerpt from the editorial...

Government officials have been aware of the problem for several years, said Chip Fletcher, a University of Hawai'i geologist... He started his work in the Kailua-Lanikai area, so he's familiar with radical changes in this beach zone.

Major players in this drama - officials from city parks and state land departments, as well as from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - have met before, he said, but there's been no corrective plan launched yet.

"The problem is you have something that crosses jurisdictions, and nobody has taken leadership and followed it from A to Z," he said... The absence of leadership is often a key ingredient in how government operates around here, so this observation should come as no surprise.

Get Your Bumper Sticker and Support Beach Access!

Do you support beach access? Well now there is a way you can tell others about it, by picking up one or more of our newly designed bumper stickers. SPECIAL OFFER: Donate before Oct. 1, and we'll send you all three!

We're going to have three versions printed. At the top each says, "Save Beach Access" with the following slogans underneath:

• No More Gates
• Open Da' Gates!
• No Gate 'Em Brah!

If you would like Beach Access Hawaii bumper stickers, please make a small PayPal donation on our web site of $5 or more, then drop me an email (figeli001@hawaii.rr.com) with your mailing address. Tapped out? No problem -- email your address to me and you can make a donation in the future. Or just use the handy Buy Now button below and you can be on your way in about one minute.

What Slogan?

Open Da' GatesNo More Gates!No Gate "Em Brah!

I can hardly wait until we see these all over Hawaii and who knows where else? Be sure and email us a photo once you've received and placed yours.

You can also read Rich's latest newsletter, Beach Access One Year Later.

Dog Crap and Politics As Usual

I've been remiss in posting updates for two reasons: 1.) Not much new to tell you. 2.) Have been busy with my Honolulu Advertiser blog, "Addicted to..." which deals with all types of addictive behavior and recovery.

Due to contract disputes at the Advertiser, I've been asked by employees to honor their "blog strike," which started today (Aug. 25). My prior posts are still available in the archives, and there are good article links related to the failed War on Drugs, as well as new studies about addictions. But the management has disabled the Comments until further notice. Haven't they ever heard about freedom of the press? Sheesh.

In any event, I walked to the beach this weekend and observed a few things. Remember how the City made a big to-do about those yellow 911 beach right of way signs they put up? The one by the Kailuana BROW at the north end of Kalaheo Avenue has been gone for a couple of months -- and still hasn't been replaced.

I have no idea if vandals stole it, or if someone who lives near that public access didn't like the sign because it might increase foot traffic next to their homes.

Meanwhile, despite our group's complaints about unsafe conditions on Kalaheo Avenue for pedestrians and bicyclists, not a damn thing has been done. The narrow shoulder areas along the road side are still just as narrow and half covered with debris or weeds, forcing walkers and bikers into the path of fast moving car traffic.

We were told by City Council Chair Barbara Marshall's assistant that homeowners were responsible for fixing that problem and had been notified. Really? So where's the follow-up?

Then as I was walking along the beach I saw two new houses nearing completion that are being built closer to the ocean than the older homes. Folks, if nothing is done about shoreline setbacks on Oahu, it won't be long before Kailua Beach looks more like Lanikai Beach and Kahala Beach. The closer that houses are built to the ocean, the more beachfront will be lost through erosion and vegetation growth, such as naupaka, that will extend out from those homes. Just take a drive over to Lanikai and you'll see what the future looks like.

Last beach observation: dogs are crapping on the beach and their owners are leaving it there. I have not been been opposed to allowing people to walk dogs on the beach, but if they aren't going to make sure other people pick up their dog's waste, maybe the City needs to have police hand out a few tickets. That goes for littering too.

When stuff like that happens, it reinforces the negative opinion people who live on gated roads have of beach users. I understand what they're complaining about. It's the few bad apples that ruin things for the rest of us.

BTW, below is a sample of a BAH bumper sticker we're getting printed up. We have two other designs that say, "Open Da' Gates!" and "No More Gates!" If you want one, email your home address to richfigel@yahoo.com.

Ala Wai Harbor parking update

Our allies at the Surfrider Foundation have sent a letter to the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources, contesting the recent decision to move forward with the State's controversial paid parking plan at the Ala Wai harbor.

According to the national litigation manager for Surfrider, under current State laws, they CANNOT privatize parking there. Below are excerpts:

To The Chairperson and Members of the Board of Land and Natural Resources:

On behalf of Surfrider Foundation, a grassroots, non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves and beaches for all people, with over 900 members in Hawaii and 50,000 members worldwide, we are writing to oppose issuance of a revocable permit to a private, for-profit entity, Diamond Parking LLC, for management of the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor parking area. A central focus of Surfrider’s mission is to ensure beach access for all persons. As it stands, this type of regulation of parking would not only discourage and effectively prohibit surfers and beachgoers from utilizing the natural resource they have become accustomed to enjoy, but it would also illegally privatize a government function. This privatization should not occur because the state legislature has failed to endow state agencies with the power to contract with private contractors.

The state does not have the right to contract with private companies in such a way as DOBOR is contemplating by creating a parking management plan that would be run by a private company. The rationale for this rule against privatization is to protect against the potential for abuse of government and taxpayer money. Additionally, the prohibition on contracting with private entities protects against the possibility that the public will be overcharged for services only to benefit of a private company who otherwise would not be making money.

This issue was once regulated by Hawaii’s Act 90. Act 90, which was enacted in 2001, explicitly allowed counties and states to “contract with private entities when it is reasonable to believe that those private entities can provide equivalent or better quality services at lower cost than the government agency”. Act 90 is no longer valid and was NOT used as a justification for this contract proposal...

Surfrider avers that this proposed parking management plan would disturb the beach-going experience as well as overstep the state’s restrictions on contracting with private entities. Because the currently proposed parking management plan would not only restrict beach access, which contravenes a core tenet of Surfrider’s mission, but also would do so illegally without statutory right, Surfrider asks that the request for issuance of revocable permit to Diamond Parking LLC be denied.

Sincerely,
Angela T. Howe, Esq.
Legal Manager, Surfrider Foundation

Will be interesting to see how the State responds to this challenge! We'll keep you posted.

Big Island Beach Access Blocked

The Star-Bulletin reports another case in which landowners have restricted access because of idiots who trash the beach and have no regard for others.

Although they placed boulders on the road to stop vehicles, people can still walk down to the shoreline. Here's an excerpt, followed by the article link:

... Shipman, which owns more than 17,000 acres in the area, placed the boulders on June 6 at its boundary with Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision, where the road widens to 50 feet.

Walters is clear about why he took action. It was in response to complaints about trash, abandoned cars, wild parties, gunshots and drug use spilling off the road onto Shipman property, he said...

Sad, huh? And these are locals who are ruining it for everyone. Here's the link to the entire article.