‘Managed retreat’ may be beach erosion option

KAPA‘A — The County of Kaua‘i Planning Department met with community members on Wednesday evening to discuss the island’s future as it grapples with a series of existential threats due to increasingly severe climate change impacts.

Part briefing, part input-seeking, such workshops provide an opportunity for the community to directly address their concerns to the department, allowing the county’s final Climate Adaptation and Action Plan to better meet residents’ wants and needs once completed.

“It won’t be the cure-all, it won’t be the one master plan to determine everything we need to do over the next century, but this will be our starting point,” said Marie Williams, the department’s long-range planning manager.

The plan, which has been in development since late 2021, is limited to county jurisdictions, such as parks, neighborhood centers, county roads and waste facilities, as well as county land use and zoning codes.

However, Sea Grant coastal land use Extension Specialist Ruby Pap noted during the presentation that a broad array of infrastructure, both county and state, are at significant risk of damage, as the state and county anticipate an approximate 3.2-foot sea level rise by the latter half of the century.

“In terms of the things that we are concerned about, we’ve got our state highways and bridges, we’ve got local roads, our county facilities, such as the library and parks and our beach parks, as well as private development — and, obviously, our developments associated with tourism and our beaches, which are so important to us,” Pap said.

The team noted several of the most prominent adaptation strategies being considered for the county, adding that implementation will likely consist of several more complex plans than what was mentioned during the workshop, held at St. Catherine School.

For critical existing assets, Williams noted the county may be able to strengthen certain infrastructure.

“For example, if a roadway experiences damage from a high-wave event, typically the county or state will come in and fix the road, and maybe try to make it a little bit stronger as well,” Williams said. “Or, we can build a revetment alongside a road, for example, and make it be able to withstand more extreme events.”

For many of the island’s parks and beach parks, Williams suggested nature-based solutions, such as dune restoration and beach nourishment, could be applicable.

While more drastic and costly, Williams noted the county may have to realign some infrastructure to protect it from weather events exacerbated by climate change, adding that West Maui’s Honoapi‘ilani Highway is undergoing a multimillion-dollar realignment project for this exact reason. Kapa‘a Public Library is also currently undergoing discussion as to whether it should relocate farther inland.

Williams also suggested using development, zoning and building codes to direct growth away from hazardous areas and create more resilient structures — something the county has already begun implementing along the island’s immediate coastline.

Finally, Williams noted what’s likely the most extreme proposed adaptive measure — managed retreat, in which landowners are offered compensation to voluntarily relocate to a less hazardous area. Williams noted the county’s current General Plan calls for a “need to employ resiliency strategies” for Kaua‘i’s particularly vulnerable westside communities, including potential relocation.

“Our General Plan actually does direct us to start thinking about managed retreat as a potential option — or at least that we’re ready for managed retreat, or explore how we could implement it, which is what we’re doing right now,” she said.

During small group discussions, county Planning Director Ka‘aina Hull added that the county has proactively set aside recently purchased westside land in case climate conditions necessitate a managed retreat deal in the future. Still, he added that initial discussions between the county and Waimea residents found strong community opposition to the idea.

“They weren’t interested in really pursuing that conversation any further,” he said. “And, so, it’s something we have to put in the box. We’re still going back to them to have that discussion, but the initial discussion of voluntary — not mandatory, but voluntary, as the ocean’s taking your property — would there be an appetite for land swap? Right now, at least in the initial read, no.”

On the eastside, Michael Moule, chief engineer at the county Department of Public Works Engineering Division, noted Kapa‘a’s roads, specifically between the bypass road and Pono Kai, are at particular risk of climate impacts as a result of sea level rise, raising serious challenges in the town’s future.

“The ones in Kapa‘a town where it’s just a dune are probably the most of concern because of coastal erosion, but the ones farther back can’t be forgotten, because they’re close, and they’re also in the sea level rise area,” he said.

Residents also emphasized the importance of ensuring the island’s roads and highways remain protected, noting their criticality to all residents and agencies, regardless of where they live.

“If we lose the road, we lose the island,” said one resident.

Climate change is anticipated to affect more than just sea level, though. Pap added that many of the island’s communities are particularly susceptible to wildfires, events expected to become more common and more severe as climate conditions are exacerbated.

“We are at very high risk … just because we’re on a tropical island and get a lot of rain doesn’t mean we’re immune,” she said.

The Planning Department noted that it intends to finalize a draft climate adaptation and action plan in the coming months, and will hold several workshops later this year for the community to provide input on the draft plan.

Additionally, the department strongly encourages Kaua‘i residents to provide input on the county’s proposed climate adaptation strategies via an online poll at www.kauaiadaptation.consider.it. The poll will remain open through June 21.