{"id":226,"date":"2014-02-01T20:40:00","date_gmt":"2014-02-01T20:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/EH\/?p=226"},"modified":"2015-01-29T19:31:26","modified_gmt":"2015-01-29T19:31:26","slug":"board-talk-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/?p=226","title":{"rendered":"Board Talk"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Land Board Finds Three Kayak Vendors Guilty of Illegal Use of Maui Beaches<\/b><\/p>\n

After years of lax enforcement, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources\u2019 Land Division has begun cracking down on commercial tour companies on Maui that use state land to stage gear and orient guests.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe Maui District Land Office has received numerous complaints from the public regarding the overcrowding of shoreline areas due to vendors laying out kayaks or surfboards along the beach while awaiting the arrival of clients or during lessons and safety briefings being conducted prior to moving out into the water for tour or surf lessons,\u201d states a June 28 DLNR Land Division report. It adds that the public is \u201cnow being forced out of these locations because of the impacts brought by the presence of unauthorized commercial operators.\u201dThis summer, the division brought three violation cases to the Board of Land and Natural Resources. All three companies were found to have broken department rules prohibiting commercial use on state land without a permit. But in two of the cases, the board eliminated the recommended fines. Two of those companies requested and recently received approval for a contested case hearing.<\/p>\n

At the board\u2019s June 28 meeting, Land Division administrator Russell Tsuji asked the board to assess a $1,000 fine and $420 in administrative costs against Island Adventure Tours, LLC (doing business as Keli`i\u2019s Kayak Tours) which he said had been illegally operating at Olowalu State Beach Reserve.<\/p>\n

Company owner Brian Yesland readily admitted that he been using the beach for the past 20 years, but denied that he was conducting any commercial activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use the area strictly for ingress and egress to the ocean,\u201d he told the board.<\/p>\n

Yesland has a permit to conduct his tours at the county\u2019s park at nearby Ukumehame. But the park, popular with surfers, is too crowded, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYears ago, we started to move to Olowalu because it\u2019s sparsely used. We are not running financial transactions there. We give a safety briefing and launch the boats. It\u2019s no different from what we do at the beach park. We\u2019re still crossing unencumbered [state] land. I don\u2019t know why you want to create user conflict by moving us back [to the park],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added that DLNR enforcement officers have only told him to keep his gear off the beach.<\/p>\n

To then-Maui board member Jerry Edlao, it didn\u2019t matter that Olowalu is less crowded.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the years, maybe nobody really said anything, but it\u2019s getting to the point DLNR is catching up to the issues going on. Now they\u2019re looking at you. … I would suggest you go back to the county park, utilize your permit, and that way everybody is happy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Rob Pacheco and John Morgan, the Hawai`i and O`ahu representatives on the board, seemed concerned that the case was only now coming to the board, five years after the initial incident. (Pacheco runs Hawai`i Forest and Trail; Morgan, Kualoa Ranch, both of which operate commercial tours.)<\/p>\n

Pacheco also lamented the fact that the department\u2019s rules allow for commercial activity with a permit, but there is no process that would allow a tour company to get a commercial permit for unencumbered lands. The DLNR quickly established a permitting system for beach weddings, he pointed out.<\/p>\n

Tsuji countered that for commercial tour permits, his staff would have to evaluate the location and may have to conduct an environmental review. He also clarified that it is fine for tour groups to traverse the beach, but conducting operations there is not.<\/p>\n

After discussing legal issues in executive session, Edlao moved to find that the company committed a violation, but forgo the fine and administrative costs. He added that he wanted the Land Division and the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement \u201cto continue vigilance of commercial use of unencumbered lands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edlao\u2019s motion passed, but board members Pacheco and Morgan voted against it.<\/p>\n

Pacheco said bringing a violation case five years late wasn\u2019t reasonable. \u201cThis doesn\u2019t work for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Morgan added that he hoped the department continued to try to find a solution. The commercial tour companies are providing a service, he said, \u201cand it\u2019s a worthwhile service. … I think it\u2019s worthwhile to try to minimize conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yesland requested a contested case hearing, which the Land Board granted at its August 9 meeting.<\/p>\n

Olowalu Offender II<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

In 2011, DOCARE officials photographed South Pacific Kayaks & Outfitters and Tiki Team Adventures doing much the same thing as Keli`i\u2019s Kayak Tours \u2013 setting kayaks along the sand and briefing customers. At the board\u2019s June 28 meeting, Land Division staff recommended the same penalties: $1,000 fine, $420 in administrative costs.<\/p>\n

Roger Simonot, owner of parent company KRS Investments, LLC, did not attend the meeting, but in a letter requested a contested case hearing.<\/p>\n

Continuing the discussion from the previous case, Tsuji told the board that the DLNR\u2019s top priority is preserving natural resources, and by law, it must also protect traditional and customary practices.<\/p>\n

The shoreline and everything seaward \u201cis held in trust by the state,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Land Division is not out looking to commercialize the shorelines at all. Uses get scrutinized very carefully before being brought to board.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pointed out that the board had recently caused a stir when earlier this year it voted to allow the Four Seasons resort on Maui to preset chairs on the beach. Outraged community members quickly filed a lawsuit noting, among other things, that no environmental review of this use of state land had been done. The resort has since chosen not to use the easement provided by the board.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are people out there watching to make sure we staff and the board look out for the interest of the public, especially in the shoreline area,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Should the board ever entertain the matter again, Tsuji said an environmental assessment would need to be done and, at least, a determination as to whether a Conservation District Use Permit would be required.<\/p>\n

Looking at Olowalu beach, \u201cit doesn\u2019t look like there\u2019s a lot of room for a commercial operation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Maui land agent and former DOCARE officer Larry Pacheco added that several vendors with county permits to operate at Ukumehame use Olowalu instead because it\u2019s not only less crowded, but is less windy and has more reef.<\/p>\n

\u201cResidents across the street complain tourists are there at 7 a.m.,\u201d he said. \u201cThe general public goes there. If [tour operators] have 10 kayaks lined up, there\u2019s no place for families to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the tour companies know they\u2019re not supposed to be there, he said. His office partnered with the county to conduct a presentation for operators explaining the shoreline boundaries of county land, private property, and unencumbered lands.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn class, we tell them, if they do everything on private property, but traverse the shoreline, that\u2019s okay. Once they use the shore for their commercial operation, that\u2019s a problem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Board member Rob Pacheco asked whether the guests were showing up in their own cars.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir own cars and even buses are showing up. It varies. It depends on the company. Some of them have tour vans,\u201d Larry Pacheco said.<\/p>\n

Again, the time lag between the violation and the recommendation to the Land Board bothered the Hawai`i board member. \u201cWhy now is this coming to us?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

The Maui land agent blamed a lack of staffing, noting that there are only two land agents for all of Maui County. He added that DOCARE held back on enforcing because there is no process in place to get a commercial tour permit for the beach.<\/p>\n

Rob Pacheco asked whether it would be beneficial to try to work with the county on a joint permit for these operators.<\/p>\n

Board chair William Aila said that option already exists. \u201cWe could issue a permit, but we choose not to,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Jimmy Gomes, who has since replaced Edlao on the board, testified that Olowalu may not be the best place to direct tours.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom road to ocean, I don\u2019t think you have 60 yards. When it\u2019s high tide, [even less],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to Tsuji, controlling illegal kayak vendors is difficult with so little staff.<\/p>\n

In the end, the board voted to approve staff\u2019s recommendation. At a subsequent meeting, the board granted the company a contested case hearing.<\/p>\n

Third Time\u2019s a Charmer<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

At its July 26 meeting, the Land Division brought its third illegal kayak vendor case to the board. But this time, because the owner was contrite and promised to stop operating on Wailea beach, Tsuji recommended forgoing the proposed $1,000 fine, but not the administrative costs of $420. Should the company, Maui Ocean Activities, commit another violation, however, Tsuji recommended that the fine be reinstated.<\/p>\n

The company had been operating adjacent to the area where the Land Board had agreed to allow the Four Seasons to preset chairs. Company manager Cardoza said he wasn\u2019t aware he could not stage his kayaks on the beach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just didn\u2019t know,\u201d said Cardoza, whose company operates out of the nearby Grand Wailea resort. \u201cWe were under the the impression it was business as usual.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you okay with administrative costs?\u201d asked at-large member David Goode.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you gonna do? … It\u2019s the cost of ignorance,\u201d Cardoza replied.<\/p>\n

The board then approved a motion finding that the company had committed a violation. The board waived the $1,000 fine with the understanding that should the company commit another violation, the recommended fine would be higher.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Land Board Finds Three Kayak Vendors Guilty of Illegal Use of Maui Beaches After years of lax enforcement, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Land Division has begun cracking down on commercial tour companies on Maui that use … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,31,20],"tags":[3],"class_list":["post-226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-board-talk","category-september-2013","category-tourism","tag-teresa-dawson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226","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=226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}