Three mudslides from a homebuilding project at ‘Anini Beach in late August, and concerns about sediment run-off into ocean harming marine life, triggered quick complaints and a call for county leaders’ action from leaders of a North Shore organization. Because
Three mudslides from a homebuilding project at ‘Anini Beach in late August, and concerns about sediment run-off into ocean harming marine life, triggered quick complaints and a call for county leaders’ action from leaders of a North Shore organization.
Because of delays in the way county officials have responded to claimed grading violations in the past, Anini Preservation Association members didn’t expect any action for a while, they said.
They got something they didn’t expect — a prompt reply and investigation by Kaua’i County Department of Public Works officials.
While county officials said they can’t ensure that an act of nature won’t cause more landslides, if they occurred at all, they said county permits were properly issued for the residential project, and the grading of a hillside and the home-construction project on a property immediately makai of ‘Anini Road will be monitored until the work is done.
County officials said the quick action shows that Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste’s administration will react decisively in such matters, to respond to public concerns, and to protect the environment.
“I was most impressed with the engineering division (of the county DPW), for being on top of it, and getting back to us immediately,” said Jill Faloon, a spokeswoman for the Anini Preservation Association.
The association consists of folks who live and own homes at ‘Anini Beach, and in the neighboring Kalihiwai area in Kilauea.
The group members concern themselves with anything that takes place in that region, from dealing with vagrants to development.
Concerns about the project came up when some ‘Anini Beach owners or residents reported that two landslides had occurred on the property owned by Greg Allen on Aug. 27, followed by a third on Aug. 28.
The work had uncovered one or several large boulders that could inflict damage to beach-front homes located along ‘Anini Road, the critics said.
Faloon said she called DPW officials on Friday, Sept. 2, about the amount of grading that had been done, possible runoff into the ocean, and whether or not the work had been permitted.
On that day, Alejandro B. Pascual, a civil engineer and assistant chief of the DPW Division of Engineering, and Willy S. Ortal, a civil engineer with the Division of Engineering, contacted her, Faloon said.
Ortal, who lives in Kilauea, said he would visit the site on Sunday, Sept. 4, on his day off, during the three-day Labor Day weekend, and conducted a preliminary survey.
On Tuesday, Sept. 6, their first day back to work, Ortal and Mario Antonio, a engineering expert with DPW, visited the site and began their investigation, finding no evidence that landslides had occurred.
Some large rocks had been piled up on the road, and a fence and rock berm had been set up to guard against runoff into the ocean, said Wallace Kubo, a top DPW official.
Had the landslides occurred, the workers on an adjoining property owned by Robert Wade would have been alarmed and would have called government officials, but they had not called, Antonio said.
“The foreman said it (the grading, and any landslides that might have occurred) had nothing to do with us,” Antonio said.
For the Allen project, a contractor had cut into the hillside to accommodate a four-tiered retaining wall, Kubo said.
“We took pictures and talked with Jill, and even on her side, it wasn’t substantiated on the (claims of) rock slides,” Pascual said.
While at the scene, county staffers met with a soils engineer, who monitored the construction of the retaining walls, and will monitor the construction of the home.
Antonio said the engineer declared that the strengthened wall will be much stronger than the natural walls behind other homes at ‘Anini Beach.
Antonio said county officials have conducted regular inspections while the retaining walls have gone up, and have found no problems.
Faloon said she was pleasantly surprised when Antonio called her back on Sept. 7 and “told me that all the permits were in place, and explained that the (inspection) work had been done.
“All the people are concerned about the amount of grading that has been done,” Faloon said. “And I guess that it is perfectly legal.”
One disgruntled resident at ‘Anini Beach said, however, that “something terribly wrong” had occurred at the beach, but didn’t want to get involved in the matter due to the politics of it all.
Faloon said the information she has gotten from county officials, thus far, indicates the government responds to public concerns.
“They were right on top of it, and it made me feel very good,” Faloon said.
