In the resurgence of a 20-year-old controversy colored with impassioned voices split over gray area in regulation rules, Hanalei community members protested a local commercial boating operation Friday morning adjacent to Black Pot Beach Park. A diverse group of more
In the resurgence of a 20-year-old controversy colored with impassioned voices split over gray area in regulation rules, Hanalei community members protested a local commercial boating operation Friday morning adjacent to Black Pot Beach Park.
A diverse group of more than 20 North Shore residents waived picket signs at passers-by and voiced disapproval for Lady Ann Cruises, doing business as Na Pali Explorer, resuming tours launched from a privately-owned boatyard upstream on Hanalei River.
“The whole thing is about disrespect,” Hanalei-Ha‘ena Community Association President Carl Imparato said. “It feels like we’re under siege. The community doesn’t want more commercial boat tours.”
Hanalei River Boatyard owner Michael Sheehan disagreed, saying he wants operations at his facility to proceed “unhindered.”
“There’s plenty of respect. The aloha left Hanalei; we’re trying to bring it back,” he said. “We’re looking at the same picture but seeing something different.”
The County of Kaua‘i on July 18 issued a violation notice to Sheehan’s facility, ordering an immediate “cease and desist” of commercial activities there.
Kaua‘i Police Department officers and county officials at the protest did not attempt to stop a Na Pali Explorer boat tour that departed around 8 a.m. Friday carrying at least 20 paying customers to sightsee the world famous North Shore cliffs.
After conducting field inspections July 10 and July 12, the county Planning Department found the boatyard to be violating five conditions of its approved zoning and Special Management Area use permits.
In the notice, Planning Inspector Les Milnes asks Sheehan to submit a list of occupants using the facility, to survey all current development there and to submit certified architectural plans for any present or future changes to the boatyard.
“The county wants me to straighten out a few technical things,” Sheehan said. “We’re allowed to make corrections and we’re happy to change.”
On Friday, Sheehan said he submitted to the county an updated list of his clients, which include Na Pali Explorer and Bali Hai Charters.
His attorney, Rich Wilson, said Sheehan should not be forced to do the requested survey for lack of necessity and added that Hanalei River Boatyard will not “cease and desist” commercial activities because the county lacks jurisdiction.
Councilmembers JoAnn Yukimura and Jay Furfaro have said the Special Management Area use permit gives the county jurisdiction to regulate operations on land where tour boats launch.
“The ‘cease and desist’ words are just used to excite and inflame the community,” Sheehan said. “I and my clients are completely in compliance with the rules.”
Milnes deferred comment to county spokeswoman Mary Daubert.
“The fact that the ‘cease and desist’ order was issued speaks for itself,” she said.
Daubert did not respond at press time to requests for comment on why Kaua‘i Police Department officers and county officials at the protest site Friday did not ask Sheehan or Na Pali Explorer operators to “cease and desist” commercial activities.
Na Pali Explorer General Manager Leina‘ala Pavao said the community rift over resumed tours is a “very sad thing to see.”
“We have a right to operate,” she said.
On July 10, Na Pali Explorer started running one or two tours a day, excluding weekends, according to Claire Inazu Seaver, who operates Lady Ann Cruises with partner Mary Kagawa Garcia.
“We’re trying to support the community by not running on weekends when locals use the beaches the most,” Seaver said.
Several Hanalei residents at the protest said despite Sheehan’s assurance to limit the number of commercial tour boat operators to a handful, they still fear a few will escalate into dozens — creating a repeat of the “out of control” levels suffered in the late 1980s when the beaches and bay were overrun.
Former Gov. Ben Cayetano tried to end the “Hanalei Boating War” in 1988 by prohibiting tour boat operations in Hanalei Bay, citing environmental reasons.
A federal judge in 2001 declared the state’s ban unconstitutional. A Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judge in 2003 upheld the ruling, which allowed three existing companies — Na Pali Catamaran, Capt. Sundown and Na Pali Coast Hanalei Inc. — to run on a permanent injunction.
Wilson said the 2001 ruling paved the way for Na Pali Explorer to launch from Hanalei River Boatyard.
County and state officials are still working on ways to effectively regulate the industry.
“To address concerns regarding the recent start-up of tour boat operations out of the Hanalei River Boatyard, the county initiated an intergovernmental effort to ensure that any and all regulations governing these activities are enforced at all levels of government,” Mayor Bryan Baptiste said in a statement Friday. “As I have said before, I do not want to see the boating issue tear apart the North Shore community as it has done in the past. I will not stand by idly and let this happen.”
This is simply more talk, according to some protesters.
“We want the county to act right now — the police to enforce laws and the courts to issue fines,” Imparato said. “Until then, we want people to keep coming out to protest as long as Na Pali Explorer is going to operate without the will of the community and possibly against the law.”
Wilson apologized to community members who dislike operations at the boatyard, but noted Sheehan’s legal right to run his facility and its positive effect on the community.
Hanalei River Boatyard reduces vehicle traffic, alleviates parking congestion, provides jobs and pays taxes, Wilson said.
The facility lawfully utilizes the state’s navigable waters, he added, steering visitors to the ocean with low environmental impact.
Wilson and Sheehan encouraged community members to share “legitimate concerns” so the boatyard can voluntarily make appropriate changes.
“Not a single person I spoke to at the protest could come up with one concrete reason to not have the commercial boating industry operating from Sheehan’s facility,” Wilson said. “He’s not going to turn it into something crazy.”
In this ongoing battle, “the community is in it for the long haul,” said state Rep. Mina Morita, who joined in the protest Friday morning.
• Nathan Eagle, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or neagle@kauaipubco.com.
