Here’s a lot more information about the situation in Punaluu, a small community on the windward coast of Oahu. The entire coastline has been subject to erosion over the years, and the owner of the home at the center of this case has apparently failed to comply with a series of prior orders issued by the state and, instead, continued to attempt to harden the area fronting his home against erosion with sandbags, bolders, large plastic sheets, etc.
A 123-page staff submittal prepared for the March 10 meeting of the Board of Land and Natural Resources details the history of the case, and includes documents from prior enforcement efforts, photos of the shoreline taken over several years, and other information. You can read or download the document below.
This report concerns an Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands (“OCCL”) Conservation District Enforcement Case OA 23-14 that has two distinct components, as described in this staff submittal. The first component is noncompliance with an Emergency Conservation District Use Permit (“CDUP”) for failing to remove a temporary erosion control structure upon its expiration date in July 2020. The second component is the installation of additional erosion control structures and the installation of additional erosion control materials in the shoreline area fronting the subject parcel.
The photo above shows the home, located on a very narrow strip of land between the ocean and Kamehameha Highway in Punaluu.
According to the report, the home has been used primarily as a vacation rental during most of the period since it was purchased by the current owner.
Staff submittal regarding enforcement action against Punaluu homeowner for shoreline hardening by Ian Lind on Scribd
Discover more from i L i n d
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Poor Mr. Tang, he didn’t understand shore line erosion and foolishly bought that house. The Dutch are experts in rising coastal waters but he can’t afford experts. He can only afford unsightly sandbags which actually exacerbate his problem.
Can the DLNR do anything besides fines? I expect not. After all the trash from the TMT protesters still litters the area between Saddle Road and the access road.
I just don’t GET that desire to live THAT close to the sea. Is it for bragging rights? Hubris? Stupidity? Naiveté?
How does Hawaii Kai Marina Association get away with building a large rock groin into the ocean and public beach that is permanently altering the shoreline. That is far more impact than Matthew Tang’s illegal work.
There is nothing like reading an entire report like this, correspondence and all.
The record shows unequivocally, that Mr. Tang has been deceitful, obstinate, and evasive.
And this is not his family home, it’s a STR. Do we know if he’s even kama’aina? Or is he a transplant tryng to profit like the 70& of out of state owners of STRs here, while pushing and pricing Kanaka Maoli out of their homelands?
Also, the DLNR is a wuss to have let this go on for so damn long, which is their shameful SOP. They need to throw the book at this guy, and everyone else playing stupid games with Mother Nature, who ALWAYS bats last.
Like whatever happened to Todd Dunphy who spent 200K on an excavator on the north shore? That story has disappeared from view,. SO obnoxious. I’ll never understand why the DLNR only threatens, but almost never levies fines. Some of us notice when the media says that they “MAY” impose fines, when it really should be a WILL.
I am not fully unsympathetic to someone impacted by erosion and sea rise. However, not a one can say they didn’t know it was coming. They’ve just been in denial while their illegal attempts to save a private home, steal public beach.