Keep Kaakaaniu Beach Access

SUBHEAD: Ka`aka`aniu Beach is the name. Larsen was a manager who ran Klauea Plantation. Enough already of privatizing beaches.

By Andy Parx on 26 October 2009 in Parx News Daily - 
http://parxnewsdaily.blogspot.com/2009/10/road-more-traveled.html


 
Image above: A view down onto Kaakaaniu Beach (known by haoles as "Larsens Beach") from access path. From http://www.hawaiilifeofluxury.com/larsens-beach-kauai  

The pilikila (Editor's note: translates to "related to deed"?) over the Larson’s Beach access has finally gotten some attention after a fine article in the Hawai`i Independent by Joan Conrow detailed how once again the public is about to lose a path that has been historically ours forever because of some slight of hand by a big landowner. She writes: 
 An outcry over plans to fence off a trail to Larsen’s Beach is causing Kauai residents to revisit two longstanding issues: Should concerns about liability restrict access; and is the county properly recording public easements? The controversy arose over cattle rancher Bruce Laymon’s plans to install a fence on northeast Kauai coastal land that he leases from the Waioli Corp., a kama`aina landowner whose holdings include the historic Waioli Mission House and Grove Farm Homestead Museum.  
But the rest of the article deals for the most part, not with Laymon but with Waioli Corp and the history of the access. Although going forward it’s Waioli’s actions that will determine the future of the access it’s Laymon’s past actions- with the ok of Waioli- that has brought the issue to a head.

Local rancher Bruce Laymon would have people believe, as his attorney told the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR), that he “is a rancher and landscaper... an avid fisherman who loves Kauai and the community... and is not a sophisticated developer as the Sierra Club would like to have the Board believe” That, in part was what influenced the BLNR to approve staff recommendations to reduce his fine for illegally clearing the bluff above Larsen beach, a secluded clothing optional North Shore beach where travel-book-reading sunbathers from around the world come to vacation, from $15,000 to $2,000 according to the minutes of it’s July meeting.

Laymon claims that it was an innocent and understandable mistake when he relied on an approved “conservation plan” for his ranch, to do work along the ancient historic Alaloa trail above Ka`aka`aniu (rolling coconut) beach and reef- also knows as Larsen’s Beach after a Kilauea sugar plantation luna- which is famous for its limu kohu according to the BLNR staff report which PNN has obtained but is apparently not posted on line.

The work not only went well beyond what was permitted by the East Kaua`i Soil and Water Conservation District (EKWCD) Board when they approved his Brush Management Plan that had been developed with the help of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) but encroached on the state conservation district and county special management area where permits are required to do any work.

 Rather than just carefully hand- remove all the non-native plants and leave the foliage in place to hold together the hillside- as the “approved plan” for the other areas required- Laymon apparently came in and cleared the entire area of “brush” denuding the hillside including cutting large trees down to stumps in order to harass the homeless in the area. According to the report Laymon apparently tried to dispose of the campers’ property calling it “household trash”, engaging in a confrontation with some when they tried to retrieve their belongings.

Though Laymon claimed ignorance and said he was “doing something good for the community”- a position with which members of the BLNR agreed- this isn’t his first run-in with the law for land-clearing operations without necessary permitting- nor is it the first time he’s had confrontational run-ins with nude sunbathers or so-called “illegal campers” on property he leased.

In 2003 Laymon did apparently illegal grubbing and grading on a three acre parcel above Kealia for which he didn’t have an NRCS approved plan. But the EKWCD Board said he made an “honest mistake” in including the three acre parcel in a plan for a different 2011 acre parcel in Kealia according to a lengthy article on the subject in the local newspaper.

This occurred during the infamous Kaua`i County Council “Developers Gone Wild” grubbing and grading hearings, spurred by the 2001 Pila`a mudslide disaster for which developer Jimmy Pflueger received the then-biggest-ever fine for a federal Clean Water Act violation.

 Despite the fact that Council Chair Kaipo Asing called actions “another Pila`a waiting to happen” Laymon’s buddies on the EKWCD Board, a group comprised of large landowners in the area who obtain votes based on the acreage they own, cleared him of all charges saying Laymon was just an unsophisticated rancher and landscaper who actually made the area look “beautiful” despite the fact that if a heavy rainfall had occurred while the land was denuded it could have despoiled the reef at Kealia.

 Laymon was also involved in the similarly infamous harassment of nude sunbathers in 1990 when he apparently organized an armed vigilante squad that roamed Kaupea Beach- aka Secret Beach- on ATVs at the behest and in the employ of landowners above the beach until the state told him to stop because the beach was state property. Among those owners were Michelle and Justin Hughes who leased Laymon the Kealia Property that they had obtained from developer Tom McCloskey who bought the entire Kealia ahupua`a after area sugar cane went defunct.

But it seems the BLNR staff either never heard about these incidents or chose not to tell the board about them and rather convinced the board that Laymon was just an unsophisticated rancher and landscaper who made an understandable mistake in clearing the area above Larsen.

The minutes of the BLNR meeting are revealing for what they don’t contain as much as what they do. Although Kaua`i member of the Board Ron Agor told many people that he would push for the full fine the minutes reveal that he actually led the other board members to accept the staff report and reduce the fine. Laymon is currently applying for an “after the fact” permit from the BLNR for not just the denuding of the hillside but to do the real work he intended to do before complaints stopped him in October of 2008- changing not just the historic Alaloa trail but the traditional easier access to the beach and substituting one more treacherous.

As to the future, the Sierra Club has been on the case and, in a letter, refutes testimony by Laymon’s attorney Lorna Nishimitsu who at one point actually tried to claim to the BLNR staff that the Alaloa trail was actually Ko`olau Road. The Sierra Club letter to the board details the issues and misrepresentation in the after the fact permit application and is apparently not available on line so is reproduced in full here.  

As you know, Paradise Ranch has submitted a CDUA for land leased from Waioli Corporation. This application calls for brush management for ranching and the construction of two sections of fence – one portion designated as pre-existing (near the northern boundary), and additional fencing that is not pre-existing, approximately twice the length of the first portion. We agree that cattle should be kept off the beach. However, the siting of this additional fencing raises a number of concerns. 

Safe Beach Access 
We appreciate that Waioli Corporation provided a public access easement to Larsen’s Beach years ago, but that route is steep and difficult for both children and elderly to use. The CDUA survey map Exhibit E, indicates that the proposed fence will block the favored public access along the gradual slope labeled “Existing Road” and “Existing Trail”. 

Emergency responders who routinely rescue visitors from the two rip currents at Larsen’s Beach also favor this route. Therefore, we ask you to keep the existing trail behind the beach unblocked.  

Historic Alaloa 
Exhibit D in the CDUA notes the State of Hawaii’s claims of ownership of the historic coastal trail – the Hawaiian Alaloa. The Alaloa is not Ko`olau Road as put forth by attorney Lorna Nishimitsu in a letter dated August 5, 2009 (Exhibit C). The evidence of the trail’s location is provided in the document called Ref: K98:1 Moloa`a (from September 1, 1998) which was not included in the CDUA exhibits, but is cited at the top of the Na Ala Hele Memo dated March 1, 2000 (Exhibit D). 

Therefore, attached to this letter is documentation from the 1998 Abstract Ref: K98:1 Moloa`a which includes an historic map labeled: Na Ala Hele Exhibit B – “Portion Registered Map 1395 dated 1878 depicting portion of Old Alaloa”. It is clear from this map that the Alaloa is a coastal trail and not the Kauai Belt Road, Kuhio Highway or Ko`olau Road. Furthermore, there is ample oral testimony collected by Na Ala Hele Kauai Advisory Council members in the late 1990’s that the path traversed close to the coastline and over the Pali. Kupuna in the area can corroborate this. 

The “pre-existing” fence does not interfere with the Alaloa. However, the proposed alignment for the new, additional fencing is makai of the existing trail ( see CDUA Survey Map-Exhibit E). The fence would block the “Existing Trail” at two points, cutting off existing public access to Larsen’s Beach via the Alaloa. 

We encourage Waioli Corporation to seek confirmation from the Na Ala Hele staff abstractor as soon as possible on this matter and to encourage DLNR to conduct a metes and bounds survey of the Alaloa in order to properly site the fence, and submit a corrected survey map for the Conservation District Use Application.

 Endangered Species 
The project area is adjacent to the sensitive coastal habitat of monk seals, green sea turtles, albatross and other endangered seabirds. Has the lessee considered using fencing that is dog proof so that endangered ground nesting birds would be protected? We hope that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be consulted and afforded the opportunity to comment. 

 Summary 
We ask that you relocate the proposed fencing so that it is mauka of the trail/road. Doing so would: a) Preserve the traditional and customary Alaloa; b) Provide the only safely graded beach access from Larsen’s Beach parking lot; c) Assist lifeguards and emergency responders in their rescue efforts, and d) Allow the public access when Monk Seal volunteers routinely ribbon off sections of this beach. 

 If liability is a concern, Waioli Corporation could dedicate the existing trail/road/Alaloa to the State under the Na Ala Hele Hawaii Trail & Access System, thereby removing the threat of liability. Neighboring Moloa`a Bay Ranch also has a portion of the Alaloa and that easement was adopted into the State Na Ala Hele trail system several years ago. Also, please note that your neighbor Falko Partners, north of Larsen’s Beach, is currently in discussion with the Kauai Public Land Trust about transferring rights to the coastal portion of the Conservation District to the public. 

Thank you for your consideration. Perhaps board members would benefit from a site visit to better understand the significance of this coastal gem and its importance to the community. Sincerely, Judy Dalton on behalf of the Executive Committee Sierra Club - Kauai Group, Hawaii Chapter

2 comments :

Juan Wilson said...

PRIVATE! SCHMIVATE!

The Garden Island News, on Kauai, had a front page article titled "Public Access or Private Property?" on 10/28/09. I think it is maybe both.

It was reported that during a press conference at Grove Farms Homestead Museum in Lihue Don Wilson (lawyer for Grove Farms) and Bruce Laymon (owner of Paradise Ranch and lessee to 600 acres behind Kaakaanui oceanfront) argued that public access "cutting through the path of least resistance" is nothing less than trespassing."

This press event was a reaction to public outrage expressed over the attempt to alter and reduce access to Kaakaanui Beach. known commonly as Larsen's Beach.

Kaakaanui Beach was renamed after L. David Larsen, the manager of the Kilauea Sugar Plantation. This says so much about the dominant western culture that invented private property boundaries and titles.

In the old days large agland owners didn't lock gates to the mountains, valleys and beaches. They just operated around the traditional ways of getting from place-to-place on the island. As sugarcane and pineapple plantations failed, a new attitude replaced the old.

Corporations contend that because it says so on a piece of paper:
"We own this land and we can do anything we want to it. Keep you out. Steal the water. Burn it down. Pave it over. It's ours and it's none of your business."

Well, a newer attitude is replacing the corporate mantra of "Debt! Interest! Growth! Profit!" That dog won't hunt anymore. In fact, it's not only the corporations that are losing a place in the survivable future. Most topdown organizations, like federal, state and county governments are on their way to the economic dustbin. If you don't believe me. look at their unpayable debt obligations.

Well, if that is how it is, maybe it's time to redefine what private property means and what the rights and responsibilities are for those that own large tracts of land (over 100 acres):

Besides biodeversity, ecological health, soil condition, sustainability, carbon-footprint and run-off, ownership should include responsibility for:

• Reasonable access to traditionally sacred places on private property.
• Convenient easements across (or adjacent) to property for access to public land makai and mauka.
• Legal recognition of historic Hawaiian easements to fishing and hunting sites lost due to County and State negligence.

Big property owners should consider themselves lucky to be in business at all.
.
Juan WIlson - Hanapepe Valley

Hope Kallai Malama Moloa`a said...

Ka`aka`aniu reef has some of the best limu resources on Kauai. Still. Yet there were no native Hawaiians consulted on this project for impact to tradional fishing and gathering areas. Contiguous parcels have known burials and cultural sites yet Applicant claims "No native Hawaiian uses of property" (just like claims of no rare or endangered species present). Lepeuli ahupuaa supported hundreds of people before Paradise Ranch decided cows are more appropriate residents.

Besides the historic Alaloa for a while after WWII there was a road to the beach because cows were kept on the flats (unless the fences were crashed down).

This issue has great impact on the whole island and deserves more press and discussion.

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