The Hawai‘i Supreme Court has made a ruling that works for and works against property owners who built a seawall along the shoreline at ‘Aliomanu to protect their million-dollar homes from beach erosion. The high court determined the Special Management
The Hawai‘i Supreme Court has made a ruling that works for and works against property owners who built a seawall along the shoreline at ‘Aliomanu to protect their million-dollar homes from beach erosion.
The high court determined the Special Management Area (SMA) use permit members of the Kaua‘i Planning Commission granted the property owners in 1981 only allowed for the construction of a rock-revetment wall, not the entire seawall.
The seawall measures more than 400 feet in length, and is designed to protect at least four homes.
The high court also ruled the beachfront property owners would not have to replenish the sand in front of the wall or in front of adjoining beachfront properties owned by Paul and Carol Lemke and Ann Lizama Noguchi.
Kaua‘i County officials took the matter to the Hawai‘i Supreme Court after the property owners built a seawall instead of the revetment wall, as allowed under the SMA permit, Deputy County Attorney Laurel Loo said.
Loo said it was her understanding the property owners argued county officials no longer had the right to dictate what type of structure could be built after the SMA permit was granted.
Loo said the ruling could mean the seawall may have to come down, or be modified.
Loo said a Kaua‘i County Planning Department employee will very likely visit the seawall to “conduct a survey and figure out the status (of the situation).
“The decision by the Hawai‘i Supreme Court reconfirmed the Planning Commission has great powers in issuing and enforcing the SMA permits,” Loo said.
Albert Morgan Sr., Robert Hansen, Dr. Alex Ferreira, Clifford Bond or others had the seawall built in the early 1980s.
Ferreira, in a telephone interview with The Garden Island from his home in Northern California last week, said it was his belief that the high court “ruled that the wall stands, as it is.”
Ferreira, who was born and raised on Kaua‘i, said the wall had nothing to do with causing beach erosion.
“Big rocks were moved around by Hurricane ‘Iniki (in 1992) and seasonal waves, because after each hurricane, we had noticeable trouble,” Ferreira said.
“The entire world knows the ocean is rising, and the question now is how much is submerged. We lost a natural seawall (when large underwater boulders were moved by storms). The next bay west of the seawall is essentially stable.”
Ferreira said he was happy to hear the property owners will not have to pay for any replenishment of sand at the ‘Aliomanu beaches.
The high court also ruled that the Morgan family had to reconfigure a side wall on their property, Ferreira said. “The configuration of the Morgan repair was wrong, and Morgan has to redo it,” he said.
Ferreira said it was his understanding that the Morgan family did the repair work because the county would not give a permit for the work in a timely manner.
The Morgan family built the smaller wall, which attaches to the main seawall, because they felt compelled to protect their property when the government failed to act quickly in their behalf, Ferreira said.
Albert Morgan Sr. was a retired electrical superintendent with McBryde Sugar company, and passed away in May 2001, at the age of 93.
More than two decades ago, Morgan and others felt the erosion had become a real danger, and asked the Lemkes and others to join them in the seawall project.
But the Lemkes refused, saying the seawall was the cause of the massive erosion in front of their home.
Since the wall has been up, the Lemkes have said the erosion has eaten away more than 50 feet of beach area. Today, the waves ride up to the front porch of a home near the Lemkes’.
In October 1981, the county Planning Commission approved Morgan’s application for the SMA permit to build a rock revetment wall.
Instead, the seawall was built.
County officials reportedly confirmed the work, but didn’t take any punitive action. At the time, a county planner seemed more concerned about the project being built within a shoreline area certified by the state, county officials have said.
The Lemkes claimed the wall was built on state land without proper approval, a claim that was rejected by the Morgan family. The work on the wall was completed in 1981.
In 1997, members of the county Planning Commission required Morgan and others who paid for the construction of the seawall to continually replenish sand in front of the wall, and replenish only once the sand in front of the properties owned by the Lemkes and Noguchi.
Claiming the requirements would be a financial burden, Morgan and the others filed an appeal, which was granted.
Kaua‘i County officials then filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court, resulting in the latest court decision.
Staff Writer Lester Chang may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net.
