Ho‘omana Foundation sought to establish the commercial campground on a 22.7-acre tract bordered by Hokiokio Place and the Lahaina Bypass.

A March 10 press release issued by the Office of the Hawaii Attorney General reported that the Hawaii Supreme Court upheld a 2016 decision by the State Land Use Commission (LUC), which ruled that a proposed commercial campground proposed for agricultural lands near Lahaina was not allowed.

The original 2016 LUC action highlighted the conflict between the Ho’omana Foundation, a charitable organization headed by prominent West Maui land owner Peter Martin, which hoped to evade the regulation by means of a special use permit, and area homeowners who saw it as a thinly veiled attempt to put a homeless camp and other commercial uses in an area near Puamana where such activities were expressly forbidden.

In the intervening years, the case wound its way through the Hawaii Circuit Court and the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals which sided with Ho’omana Foundation, holding that the commission could issue such a special permit.

However, the state’s high court in its recent decision (Ho’omana Foundation v. Land Use Commission, No. SCWC-170000181, Haw. March 10, 2023) issued a 3-2 decision that reversed the action of the lower court.

It held that the uses were expressly not permitted in the state agricultural district and needed to be addressed in a district boundary amendment rather than through special permits. In making the decision, the court overturned a 1990 Hawaii Supreme Court decision (Mahaulepu v. Land Use Commission).

Responding to the decision, Daniel E. Orodenker, executive officer of the LUC, commented, “The Hawaii Supreme Court’s decision supports our position originally taken in 2016. The special-permit process cannot be used to approve overnight camps on prime agricultural lands. Although it has been a long road, the commission is very happy with the outcome of this case which resolves a lot of uncertainty with respect to special permits.”

Find the original news release and majority and minority court opinions at: https://governor.hawaii.gov/newsroom/atg-news-release-state-land-use-commission-prevails-in-hawaii-supreme-court-case-regarding-special-permit-for-overnight-camp-on-prime-agricultural-l-and/.

Land Board doubtful about Kaanapali replenishment at public expense: According to a March 11 report in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the seven-member State Land Board, which oversees the state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), signaled in its March 10 meeting that it might pull its support for a major $10 million beach nourishment project proposed at Maui’s Kaanapali Beach.

The project produced significant pushback from area residents concerned about environmental impacts of mining large amounts of sand from offshore to counter the erosion currently impacting the beach that fronts the luxury Kaanapali Resort area.

While the project would enlarge the public beach, it has been criticized as largely benefitting the oceanfront hotels and condos in Kaanapali and encouraging them to stay put rather than look at options for retreating from the shoreline.

According to the Star-Advertiser article, the DLNR received about 130 pages of written testimony from the public that was overwhelmingly opposed to the project. Community members from Maui also provided video testimony against the portion of the sand replenishment project which was publicly financed.

The board voted unanimously to reject approval of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). While the vote didn’t kill the project, it sent a powerful message that the Land Board, which still must approve a Conservation District Use Permit (CDUP) for the project in order for it to move forward, has serious concerns.

It also creates uncertainty about the funding.

Land Board Member Doreen Canto, representing Maui, said she was opposed to the project.

“I’m not against beach restoration; I’m against desecration,” she said. “Dredging the sand will impact the nearshore environment, fishing, lifeguard services, cultural practices and canoe racing.”

The Kaanapali Operators Association did not testify during the hearing and did not respond to a request for comment.

In a somewhat related action, the Land Board also voted to impose a $180,000 fine on a Punaluu (Oahu) beachfront homeowner for years of shoreline violations, including building a rock wall in the shoreline area and maintaining massive sandbags on the public beach to protect his property.

The fine is one of the largest for a shoreline enforcement case, but more surprising was the board’s unprecedented step in saying it would waive the fine if the owner tears down or relocates his house off property within six months and remove the infrastructure, including sewer and electrical lines, to ensure it is not redeveloped.

These two actions signaled that the Land Board, which sets policy from the DLNR, and since December has been chaired by Dawn Chang, is taking a much more aggressive stance in confronting the realities of climate change and sea-level rise, and taking an even stronger position on its mission to protect public beaches and inshore marine environment over the interests of private property.

View a video of the Land Board meeting of March 10, 2023 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8oyjKaDTGg.

Item K-1 pertaining to Kaanapali Beach runs from 5:24:00 to 6:56:00.