{"id":17146,"date":"2026-05-05T09:21:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T19:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/?p=17146"},"modified":"2026-05-05T10:12:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T20:12:53","slug":"dlnr-proposes-settlement-agreement-for-fence-violation-at-marconi-point","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/?p=17146","title":{"rendered":"DLNR Proposes Settlement Agreement for Fence Violation at Marconi Point"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On May 8, the Department of Land and Natural Resources\u2019 Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands will request that the Board of Land and Natural Resources approve a settlement agreement for a violation case brought on April 26, 2024, regarding unauthorized fence construction in the Conservation District at Marconi Point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The OCCL had identified unauthorized fences in the Conservation District on Unit 1 of the Marconi Point Condominiums project, as well as along the boundary between the project and Turtle Bay Resort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The OCCL noted in its report to the Land Board,  \u201cThe fence lines are detrimental and interfere with the life cycle of the moli (Laysan albatross) creating separation, anxiety, and trauma to the protected bird. Fences block the adults when caring for their egg and young as they take turns watching over the nest. When the birds are ready to leave the nest, fences may block the flight path of the very important initial first flight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The office initially proposed imposing a fine of $15,000 against the Association of Unit Owners of Marconi Point Condominiums and\/or the project\u2019s developer, Makai Ranch, LLC, and requiring the boundary fence\u2019s removal from the Conservation District. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The boundary fence was constructed long before the owners\u2019 association was created. Even so, because the easement containing the fence is a common element of the CPR, \u201cthe entire CPR is responsible for this violation,\u201d the OCCL\u2019s report stated. (The Unit 1 fences were later removed as part of a settlement agreement<\/a> with the former owner of that lot.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the board\u2019s April 2024 meeting, counsel for the alleged violators asked for a contested case hearing<\/a>. A contested case hearing on violations stemming from other unauthorized activities on the CPR\u2019s coastline by certain unit owners and their contractor was held earlier this year (see this month\u2019s cover story). The association of unit owners, however, chose to pursue a settlement agreement for the fence violation, rather than proceed with a contested case hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A 2022 photo of a portion of the unauthorized fence at Marconi Point in the Conservation District.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Under the agreement, the association must remove the boundary fence portion that extends into the Conservation District in a manner that won\u2019t adversely affect Laysan albatross or other species, provide supporting documentation to the OCCL, work with the office to determine the district boundary\u2019s location, and waive its right to a contested case hearing regarding the enforcement action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DLNR agrees to waive all fines sought against the association \u201cand any other potentially liable parties, for the boundary fence violation,\u201d and close the enforcement action upon confirmation that the fence portion has been removed, the agreement states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Land Board was first scheduled to decide on whether to accept the agreement in March, but the meeting was cancelled due to bad weather. Community members had submitted written testimony opposing the proposal to waive the fines, arguing that the fences had caused harm to the albatross that nest in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Teresa Dawson<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On May 8, the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands will request that the Board of Land and Natural Resources approve a settlement agreement for a violation case brought on April 26, 2024, regarding … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,338,550],"tags":[3],"class_list":["post-17146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dlnr","category-land-use","category-may-2026","tag-teresa-dawson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17146"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17160,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17146\/revisions\/17160"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}