Beach Land Grab Article

Today's Star-Bulletin ran a good article about the continuing problem of oceanfront property owners making claims on the beach where it has naturally expanded, or by simply growing out vegetation to grab more land (as in the photo above, which was taken last year at Kailua Beach -- note the SPRINKLER HEADS in the plantings).

We have laws saying the beach belongs to the public up to the high water wash, but vegetation is also used to mark boundaries. We have State laws that say one thing, while the individual counties make their own shoreline setback rules. Meanwhile, due to State and county budget shortfalls, personnel are being laid off which means we have less enforcement of existing laws. And no one is really responsible for overseeing our shorelines and beaches -- the State and counties just pass the buck!

Here's the article link.

My wife and I took a walk along Kailua Beach this Thanksgiving weekend. Besides the five houses that are already being rebuilt closer to the water, there are at least two vacant lots where you can be sure new owners will also build right up to the legal setback because others have already done it, and they don't want their views blocked by neighbors who will rebuild closer to the ocean.

Say goodbye to the Kailua Beach we used to love. It's well on the way to becoming another narrow stretch of sand just like Lanikai or Kahala Beach thanks to selfish, short-sighted beachfront property owners who don't give a damn about their impact on Hawaii's beaches. And thank our State and county officials too for not doing anything about it.

Hawaii's Beach Problems Go National

The AP ran this story today, which focuses largely on Kailua Beach and quotes the UH Sea Grant guys as saying many of our beaches are already considered to be lost causes. Why? Rising sea levels, erosion, sea walls and inadequate shoreline setbacks. The article notes that there is a Kailua Beach master plan in the works... but knowing how slow our City and State government are to act, whatever gets recommended will probably be ignored and Kailua will go the way of Lanikai and Kahala Beach. It will be too little, too late. Again.

Here's some excerpts and the link to the story...

Hawaii's famed white sandy beaches are shrinking

By AUDREY McAVOY, Associated Press Writer – Sun Nov 15

KAILUA, Hawaii – Jenn Boneza remembers when the white sandy beach near the boat ramp in her hometown was wide enough for people to build sand castles.

"It really used to be a beautiful beach," said the 35-year-old mother of two. "And now when you look at it, it's gone."

What's happening to portions of the beach in Kailua — a sunny coastal suburb of Honolulu where President Barack Obama spent his last two family vacations in the islands — is being repeated around the Hawaiian Islands.

Geologists say more than 70 percent of Kauai's beaches are eroding while Oahu has lost a quarter of its sandy shoreline. They warn the problem is only likely to get significantly worse in coming decades as global warming causes sea levels to rise more rapidly...

... (Chip) Fletcher proposes identifying areas where a land conservation fund would buy five or six adjoining properties. The state would tear down buildings on these plots and allow the beach to shift inland.

He said when erosion hits more sections of Kailua beach, there's going to be a clamor to put up seawalls.

"That will be a very important moment," Fletcher said. "If we allow the first home to put up a seawall, then we're probably dooming the entire beach over the course of a couple of decades . . .

Read the entire article by clicking here.

Kauai Access Problems

Two good pieces worth reading about the controversy over shoreline access on Kauai. First, there's this article from The Hawaii Independent, which begins:

An outcry over plans to fence off a trail to Larsen’s Beach is causing Kauai residents to revisit two longstanding issues: Should concerns about liability restrict access; and is the county properly recording public easements?

The controversy arose over cattle rancher Bruce Laymon’s plans to install a fence on northeast Kauai coastal land that he leases from the Waioli Corp., a kamaaina landowner whose holdings include the historic Waioli Mission House and Grove Farm Homestead Museum.

The fence would block the widest and easiest of two trails that lead down to the long, relatively secluded beach. Laymon maintains the more popular trail is not the easement that Waioli Corp. deeded over to the county. Instead, the public access runs through an outcropping of rocks along a steeper, rougher trail that is less favored by beach-goers.

But during a site visit last Friday, concerned citizens said they were stunned to hear surveyor Alan Hironaka claim there’s no public access to Larsen’s Beach at all...

Click here to read the rest.

Then we have Andy Parx's "got windmills?" blog post, which also goes into the history and politics behind the Larsen Beach access issue.

Check out Andy's piece, The Road More Traveled (Mon., Oct. 26) here.

So has the Honolulu Advertiser or Star-Bulletin been on top of this story? I could be wrong, but I don't think so. More and more we're seeing independent news sources and bloggers picking up the slack while TV news and the dailies cut back on actual reporting, and run more Mainland-generated content.

B&B Pros and Cons: Trick or Treat?

Is the bed and breakfast debate in Hawaii a beach access issue?

As many of you know, I have mixed feelings about the arguments for and against B&Bs. Some of our friends and BAH supporters own B&Bs in Kailua. But I also know people who have been negatively affected by B&Bs.

Ironically, some of the most vocal opponents of B&Bs are people who live on gated roads. They even claim the influx of B&B tourists are one reason they don’t want anyone using “their” private lanes to get to the beach. They want the City Council to tell others what they can or can’t do with their homes.

Yet those same people don’t want anyone telling THEM what they should do with their “private” roads -- despite the fact they receive public services such as trash pick-up and mail deliveries.

Moreover, some of those mini-hotels that are marketed as B&Bs are on gated roads. Which means tourists who rent them have their own private access to the beach, while residents who live nearby must trek as much as half a mile to find a public right of way.

Personally, I’d like to see B&Bs restricted to owner-occupied homes. Most of the problems I hear involve properties where the owner lives out of state or somewhere else. If the owner is present, at least you know who to complain to. I think owner-occupied B&Bs can fit into residential areas if they are regulated and stay true to the spirit of real mom-and-pop operations.

It’s a thorny issue. I’ve had family visiting from the Mainland, and I wanted to set them up with a B&B in Kailua. However, I have friends who have had trouble finding affordable rentals, in part, because B&Bs are more profitable for property owners. If I had an extra room to rent, I'd want to get top dollar for it too.

Is there a middle ground? I’m all for keeping Kailua residential. But without tourists, I think many of the small businesses in town would suffer or close down. Then we all lose out -- the biz owners and residents who shop or dine at those places.

You can post public comments here, but you must register so we don’t get nasty “anonymous” comments. As we’ve seen in the past, those kind of personal attacks don’t get us anywhere.

Ocean Policy Task Force

For some time now, I've been harping on the need for a Hawaii Coastal Commission or joint State/Counties Task Force to oversee shoreline management. This week it was announced that the Obama Administration is recommending the creation of a National Ocean Council to coordinate and oversee "myriad federal agencies in conservation and marine planning efforts."

Why? Because ocean policy is being done in a "piecemeal basis"... just as in Hawaii, where public beach access, shoreline setbacks, ocean-related commercial activities, are all regulated (or not) in the very same piecemeal fashion.

But the proposal for creating a task force that could pave the way for a Hawaii Coastal Commission got shot down by people like the DLNR's Sam Lemmo! The UH Sea Grant people didn't give us any support either. Yet they complain about the difficulties in dealing with split jurisdiction between the State and counties. So what's their alternative plan to create a better, more efficient system of shoreline management?

Here's the link to the AP article on the National Ocean Council proposal. Gee, isn't it nice to have a president and officials who use some common sense in streamlining agencies for efficiency, instead of simply ignoring environmental issues such as sea-level rise and industrial pollution? Of course some wing-nut will scream that this is socialism.

UPDATE: Better article from the New York Times...

"The Obama administration called Thursday for a comprehensive national system for regulating the use of federal waters along the nation’s marine and Great Lakes shores, now administered by a hodgepodge of federal, state or other agencies with often-conflicting goals..."

From our allies on the North Shore of Oahu, comes this urgent appeal below. Plans to develop the Turtle Bay resort could have an adverse impact on shoreline access in that area...

The Honolulu Advertiser’s wrote in today’s editorial, “Court should clarify worth of years-old EIS”

If the high court decides to take the appeal, as it should, the state will get clearer direction of how environmental law should apply to development that has languished on the drawing boards for years.

And although the Kuilima Resort Co. project is at the center of this case, there are other projects with environmental impact statements prepared long ago. The original proposal for Makena Resort on Maui, for example, was based on an EIS completed in 1974.

It is not right that the developers should be allowed to begin development 20 or 200 years after an EIS is accepted without having to reconsider potential impacts. Keep the North Shore Country and Sierra Club have been seeking a Supplemental EIS for the Turtle Bay Resort in the courts since 2006. If the Supreme Court does not accept the case, our challenge of the environmental review will probably be over.

Meanwhile, Stanford Carr continues to press ahead with the expansion plan and continues to seek final subdivision approval from the City and County of Honolulu. They are very close.

We are near the end of the process. Now is the time to speak up!

This editorial gives you an excellent opportunity to share your concerns about the Turtle Bay Resort Expansion Plan and the City’s refusal to order a supplemental EIS. Please take a moment to send your comments to the Letters to the Editor and also post an on-line comment. Letters to the Editor are more effective.

Advertiser Letters to the Editor Include your name and contact information so they can confirm your identity and publish your letter.

You can read all of the court filings and follow the action at www.KeepTheNorthShoreCountry.org

Mahalo,
Gil Riviere
Keep the North Shore Country

Mainland Beach Access Cases

Not much local news to report, since the Hawaii State Legislature and Honolulu City Council are more concerned about tax revenue shortfalls than matters such as shoreline access or environmental issues. So our most valuable natural resource -- the ocean and beaches of Hawaii -- are being neglected while plans are being put into place to have residents and visitors "pay to play"... things like increasing the cost for metered parking at popular surfing spots, increasing camping permit fees, and so on.

Some of those steps are probably necessary though, and if the money goes to improving and maintaining facilities and beach parks, well, that's all right with me. But crucial things like shoreline building setbacks are being ignored as "seaward creep" by beachfront homeowners is becoming a visible problem on Kailua Beach! Does anyone care? Not enough, apparently.

On the mainland, however, there are important court cases in Texas and Florida that could set precedents for public beach access throughout the country. Unfortunately, our ever-shrinking local news media doesn't cover issues like this unless we wave protest signs at a rally... or someone files a lawsuit.

Here's the link to activist Rob Nixon's blog, Waiting for the Next Swell, which recaps the legal implications of the Texas and Florida cases.

From Rob's post on the subject:

2009 may very well go down as THE pivotal year for Public Beaches and Public Beach Access in the United States. Starting in November, three very important public beach issues will come up for decision in Texas and Florida. What is at stake is no less than the public's right to access and use the beaches of these states. The decisions on these issues by the voters and the courts may also have an impact on all the coastal states of the United States as they will definitely set precedent for future challenges and cases....

Big Island Plea for Access Help

An email from Betty Jung on the Big Island was forwarded to us from someone in the State DLNR... in other words, the state can't do anything about beach access problems and it seems like the county "no can" either. So they refer people like her to groups like ours. Unfortunately, all we can do is continue to lobby for better laws and try to drum up more public support.

Here's her email and links to the West Hawaii Today newspaper articles about the situation:

Subject: Big Island "Pines" surf and beach

Aloha,

In the local newspaper, West Hawaii Today, on the dates of 7/16 and 7/19 there were articles regarding the closing off of gates to a road that leads to a locally popular beach and surf area known as "The Pines." The current access is through the National Energy Lab of Hawaii road. Due to the economy, as reported in the newspaper, NELHA is planning to close the gate at 4:30PM on Fridays and not reopen until Monday mornings. One newspaper article claimed that a paved road through an incomplete housing area to be known as Kohanaiki, is supposed to open their gate to the local traffic as access. All this is supposed to begin on August 1. As has happened in the past on this island, we have had the same type promise and then have been locked out for as much as two years. Since this area is so widely used by locals, not just for surfing, but for camping, family reunions, birthdays, weddings etc., we would like some guidance on writing a petition to the Hawaii County office or State office that might be of aid to us in keeping this area open. The locals who use this area are inclined to due diligence in maintaining the area for family use. Please help us keep this area open.

Mahalo, Betty Jung

Click here for the July 16 article, and here for the July 19 story on the energy lab gate closing.

I don't know enough about it to comment, other than to say they need to get organized and try to get some TV news coverage that might wake up the Big Island council. The state DLNR will do nothing as usual.

Guest Blogger: On Perseverance

Shannon Wood of the Windward Ahupua`a Alliance, sent this timely message about the need to stay the course when lobbying for changes in state law. The bill she writes about relates to climate change, which could affect sea levels and shoreline access. More importantly, it points out that our system of government requires persistence and patience.

On July 15, 2009, the Hawaii State Legislature overrode Governor Linda Lingle's veto of SB 266 CD1 (now ACT 20, Special Session 2009) to establish a Climate Change Task Force.

It took me four legislative sessions to get this on the books. I first started talking to lawmakers in late 2005, but no one was even willing to sponsor a resolution, let alone a bill, in the 2006 Session.

Then along came "An Inconvenient Truth" in the summer of 2006, and suddenly the political environment changed significantly; however, for a variety of reasons, it still took another three years to get the legislation enacted.

Many, many people worked together on Hawaii's climate change legislation -- including faith-based organizations and labor unions -- but this one was really my "baby." Twice this past Regular Session, I kept the bill alive by meeting with key legislators in both the State House and Senate who had major concerns about the costs given the slowdown in the economy.

I particularly want to thank four Hawaii environmental groups for their support: The Nature Conservancy, the Sierra Club, the Trust for Public Land, and the Blue Planet Foundation. Additional critical support came from the Environmental Law Program at the Richardson School of Law and the Center for Climate Adaptation & Policy at the University of Hawaii.

In all my years of political activism, only one other bill (establishing criminal penalties for owners of dogs legally designated as "dangerous") has kept me going... and going... and going as this one did. In that case, I was driven by the deaths of my cats by two dogs who came into our yard and killed them -- and all the owners were charged with were two leash law violations! Getting that bill on the books took 1,199 days.

And don't forget that it took over 30 years to get a beverage container deposit fee bill passed.

PATIENCE, PERSEVERANCE, PERSISTENCE, PARTNERSHIPS, PASSION... they really do work when it comes to making changes in How We Do Things Around Here.

I also believe that this climate change legislation could be a model for other states. Obviously, not all states will have to deal with sea level rise nor would they necessarily have the same the same entities or organizations on their task force, but the concept and the goals underlying the legislation would be the same.

As for public access issues, I've been told by Abbey Seth Mayer that his staff is working on a plan; however, Robert Harris from the Sierra Club feels that it will be years before any solid recommendations will be forthcoming. That's something we can change if there's enough interest in doing so.

Shannon Wood, President & Co-Founder, Windward Ahupua`a Alliance /Plug In & Power UP!/RECYCLING FOR CHANGE/BUST-A-DUMPER Campaign

Click here for SB 266 legislation text.

Interesting article on Lanikai Beach woes

While Lanikai currently has more open public access to the beach than Kailua Beach, the lack of public parking and commercial activities are pushing residents to take action against the daily intrusions. And regular problems with drunk or rude idiots has some of them talking about closing off access ways.

What's the solution? I don't know... again, I think this is another reason we need a Hawaii Coastal Commission that would oversee issues such as commercial activities and public access, while creating long-term shoreline management policies for the entire state. Think the City Council or DLNR will do anything on their own? Right...

Anyhow, here's the Hawaii Independent link. Bookmark the site and check out their other local stories!

Home page: http://www.thehawaiiindependent.com/