Hawai‘i’s shorelines are unique assets of the state created by a centuries-long natural process of erosion and accretion. We see these beaches alluringly splashed all over postcards, ads and magazine pages in order to promote tourism and real estate sales.
Hawai‘i’s shorelines are unique assets of the state created by a centuries-long natural process of erosion and accretion.
We see these beaches alluringly splashed all over postcards, ads and magazine pages in order to promote tourism and real estate sales. Shoreline ecosystems are home to many of our invaluable and endangered flora and fauna. They are central to the ocean-based lifestyles of many kamaaina, and they hold immense cultural and historical significance for the Hawaiian people.
Given these facts, it is imperative that Hawai‘i’s shorelines and beaches are protected and preserved for the multifaceted use and enjoyment of our state’s peoples, its residents and visitors. This is no small task, especially considering shoreline development (past, present and future) and forecasted rises in sea levels due to anthropogenic climate change.
As beaches accrete (gain sand) and erode naturally due to current, wind and wave patterns, sandy shorelines tend to expand and contract. When attempting to analyze accretion and erosion patterns back more than 60 years, experts must often rely upon photographic or anecdotal evidence due to a lack of scientific data.
For a long time, development along Hawai‘i’s shorelines occurred with little thought given to accretion and erosion rates. When beaches grew through accretion, the vegetation line crept makai, and houses were built further out onto the shoreline than they should have been. As the years went by, currents shifted, wind patterns fluctuated, or large swell events occurred and reversed the cycle. As their front yards began to wash away, homeowners sought to protect their properties by armoring the shoreline — through seawalls or other means.
Man-made alterations to the shoreline added another variable. In some cases, the beaches came back, but in others, the shoreline was irrevocably altered, and beaches which should have been a public resource were lost forever.
At its southern end, Kailua Beach is eroding at a rate of two to three feet each year. The beach at this end has been completely washed away and the erosion is now into the grassy dunes.
One way of doing this is to reexamine and revise shoreline setbacks — mechanisms which keep property owners from building too close to the water. Traditionally, shoreline setbacks were simply set back 30 feet (or a similar distance) from the water line, without taking annual erosion rates into account. If the beach accreted, owners could claim extra land as their own, up to the vegetation line. Unfortunately, some landowners were able to build upon accreted lands by using legal loopholes, despite regulations that were supposed to prevent such development.
Kaua‘i has set an excellent example for the state by adopting a strong setback ordinance: on the Garden Isle, the setback is 40 feet from the certified shoreline plus 70 times the annual erosion rate. For properties with larger buildings (greater than 5,000 square feet), the setback is 40 feet plus 100 times the annual erosion rate. Not only is this the strongest shoreline setback in the state, it is among the strongest in the nation!
In 2003, the Legislature sought to protect Hawai‘i’s beaches and vegetated dunes, by passing Act 73, which prevented private property owners from claiming accreted lands. Despite a challenge in court by property owners with pre-existing claims, the Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled that from 2003 onward, all newly formed beach lands belonged to the public and can no longer be claimed as private property. This was an important victory in the fight to preserve what is left of Hawai‘i’s pristine beaches. While we can’t turn back the tides of time, we can protect what we still have.
• Cynthia Thielen, a Republican, represents Kailua and Kane‘ohe Bay in the state House. She is the assistant minority leader in the Legislature.
