MOLOA‘A — Concerned residents who fought for several months against a planned fence that would have blocked the easiest access to Lepe‘uli Beach may have prematurely done their victory lap last week. After Paradise Ranch surrendered its state permit earlier
MOLOA‘A — Concerned residents who fought for several months against a planned fence that would have blocked the easiest access to Lepe‘uli Beach may have prematurely done their victory lap last week.
After Paradise Ranch surrendered its state permit earlier this month to build the fence and do other landscaping work on conservation lands, community members said this week that the cattle company may nonetheless be in the process of erecting a fence on nearby agricultural lands.
Two metal posts were recently placed near the entrance to the easiest route leading down to Larsen’s — as the North Shore beach is commonly called — and it appears the company has a permit to do the work.
On Sept. 1, 2009, then-county Planning Director Ian Costa signed a permit authorizing Paradise Ranch, owned by Bruce Laymon, to build a fence on the lands which apparently include the entrance to the parallel access to Lepe‘uli.
The location where the posts were erected is reportedly agricultural-zoned land, with a Special Management Area overlay. Agricultural-zoned lands do not necessarily require a permit for fencing, but Paradise Ranch sought and obtained the county permit because of the SMA overlay.
Regardless, the fence location should still preserve the public access to and along the steeper, lateral coastal trail owned by the county. The parallel access to Lepe‘uli is believed by many to be part of the ala loa, an ancient trail that goes around the entire coast of Kaua‘i.
One of the conditions of the county permit was that the location of the fence was subject to approval by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and Na Ala Hele, Hawai‘i’s trail and access program.
On Sept. 9, 2009, Na Ala Hele said there may be a historical trail that once traversed the property, but the government did not make a claim for any trails through the property when the land was registered in the Land Court system in 1943.
On Feb. 16, 2010, Laura Thielen, then-chair of the state DLNR, unilaterally approved a permit for Paradise Ranch to fence off the property it leases from Waioli Corporation, a nonprofit tasked with managing and preserving the land.
Kaua‘i resident Linda Sproat, represented by the Native Hawaiian Legal Council, plus Surfrider Foundation and Malama Moloa‘a appealed Thielen’s decision. They requested a contested case hearing, but were denied.
Things changed when Thielen was replaced last month by William Aila Jr.
Roughly two weeks ago, the state Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands recommended the Board of Land and Natural Resources grant their request for a contested case hearing.
On Jan. 10, the attorney for Paradise Ranch sent a letter to the BLNR communicating that the ranch would surrender its permit due to the long and costly legal battle. Three days later, the BLNR voided the permit.
A few days after the BLNR’s decision, beachgoers saw workers erect two metal posts by the entrance of the parallel access and community members renewed their concern over the access.
