THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	187
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the state of hawaii and city and county of honolulu to use all authority granted by the state constitution and county charter to ensure meaningful access in perpetuity to public beaches in kailua, waimanalo, and hawaii kai.

 

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's beaches are among the most precious of natural resources, central to the economy and sense of place in communities around the State, and critical in importance to local families and their way of life; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Constitution of the State of Hawaii protects and ensures public access to all beaches throughout the State, and both state law and county ordnance require public beach access and transit at reasonable intervals; and

 

     WHEREAS, only a privileged few can afford to live on beachfront properties, leaving the overwhelming majority of Hawaii's families without beach access unless provided by law or government intervention; and

 

     WHEREAS, increasing numbers of beachfront homes are being purchased as investment properties; rentals; and second or third vacation homes by owners who live out-of-state, off-site, or only part-time, or by those just moving to Hawaii without an appreciation for the State's culture and long history of ensuring beach access for everyone; and

 

     WHEREAS, there have been increasing reports of illegal gates, fencing, and overgrown vegetation across traditional beach accesses long accessible to the community; and

 

     WHEREAS, beachfront property owners in some communities have a history of planting vegetation to block public access that has prompted the State to change the law to enable meaningful enforcement and establish stiffer penalties for the illegal practice; and

 

     WHEREAS, on one occasion, a beachfront property owner installed a gate to block public beach access, prompting a lawsuit and resulting in the City and County of Honolulu condemning the property to ensure public beach access; and

 

     WHEREAS, certain property owners have sought to lock a gate blocking public beach access through an area that has been a regular thoroughfare for the public for generations; and

 

     WHEREAS, regardless of the legal ramifications of intentionally blocking public access to the State's beaches, such actions clearly and unequivocally run counter to the public interest, disadvantage local residents that cannot afford to live on beachfront property, and undermine the spirit of aloha on which the Hawaii's community was built; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the House of Representatives concurring, that the State of Hawaii and City and County of Honolulu are requested to use all authority granted by the state constitution and county charter to ensure meaningful access in perpetuity to public beaches in Kailua, Waimanalo, and Hawaii Kai; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting are requested to utilize the authority given to them from the Legislature to take action against violators of chapter 115 and section 205A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to the fullest extent permitted; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Attorney General and Corporation Council of the City and County of Honolulu are requested to pursue any legal action as may be necessary to ensure meaningful access to public beaches; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that should it become necessary, the State and the City and County of Honolulu are requested to exercise the power of eminent domain to protect the public interest and ensure meaningful access in perpetuity to public beaches in Kailua, Waimanalo, and Hawaii Kai; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Attorney General, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, Corporation Counsel of the City and County of Honolulu, and Director of the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Public Access; Beach Access Corridors