A reader using the name “Linda” commented on the post about a Punaluu landowner being fined for unpermitted attempts to stop erosion. Linda wondered how the Hawaii Kai Marina Association was able to “get away” with building a rock groin into the ocean.
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.
Well, the answer wasn’t hard to find. The Marina Association jumped through all the hoops, including required environmental reviews, and was approved to build a more permanent solution to keeping the channel open than had existed previously. They don’t appear to have “gotten away” with anything.
From a December 30, 2016 article by reporter Andrew Gomes in the Honolulul Star-Advertiser:
A community association that owns the private marina in Hawaii Kai wants to more permanently inhibit sand from migrating off Portlock Beach into the boat entry channel by constructing a $2 million rock groin.
The Hawaii Kai Marina Community Association believes the groin, which would replace a row of giant sandbags first installed in 2004 on the east side of the entryway, will keep the channel clear for longer and be less costly in the long term compared with maintaining the sandbags.
However, some nearby residents and other community members are concerned about potential negative impacts on beach erosion and ocean currents.
The project was approved by the Land Board in June 2020. You can read the staff submittal describing the project and its background, which is available on the DLNR website. By the time the item reached the Land Board, it appears to have already received environmental clearance.
A public notice was published by the Army Corps of Engineers in August 2018, which includes photos and other information. It includes a fact sheet, the federal public notice, along with drawings and photos.
So the answer to Linda’s question is that the Marina Association didn’t “get away” with anything. They appear to have complied fully with the law, with lots of opportunity during the permitting process for comments, etc. There are probably additional reports during the review process that I didn’t see in my quick search.
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Are you sure the reader’s name isn’t Karen?
The private Hawaii Kai Marina keeps the public out of “their marina” yet builds their groin on the public’s beach. I guess that’s in keeping with Henry Kaiser’s destruction of the largest fishpond in Polynesia.
Remember that Henry Kaiser developed Keahupua-O-Maunalua only at the request & urging of the Bishop Estate.
The Marina is privately owned as was the fishpond it replaced. This was essentially the reasoning of the US Supreme Court in denying the State’s contention that the Marina should be public property.
The homeowner doesn’t have the same financial ability, like a large well endowed Homeowners Association with reserves for such an extensive permits process, engineering and licensed contractors. That is unless your a major player like Obama & Nesbit on the Waimanalo Beach front.
The “major players” are probably bribing left and right.
I’d be interested in a piece on the recent DPP bribery scandal.
Every single case the convictied bribees touched should be reviewed and reversed if necessary.
And why is no one in the media asking who the BRIBERS were? Too powerful to upset? THAT’S the story I want to know the details on. The silence from all corners on this part of the problem, is deafening.
Yes, dlnr employees are “retiring’ or switching to another State job because of the long arm of the Ethics committee chairman who seems to be the only one who understands the importance of transparency and accountability….