A plan to tax Waikiki businesses as a means of raising funds to restore and replenish the beach along the iconic coast is running into opposition from beach groups, Kapiolani Park supporters and the neighborhood board.
Opponents don’t want the program to extend east beyond Kapahulu Groin.
Bills 81 (2014) and 82 (2014), nonetheless, secured City Council approval on second reading Wednesday, with a 9-0 vote. The measures now will return to the Council Zoning and Planning Committee for more work.
The bills would set up a special improvement district for Waikiki Beach that would tax businesses and property owners. The money would be placed into a fund that would pay for shoreline improvement, restoration and protection projects carried out by the state, city or other entities.
The effort is being spearheaded by the Waikiki Improvement Association and supported by the state Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands, which says the beach is eroding at a rate of about a foot a year. The beach has already received two sand replenishments in recent years, and experts say it will need to be replenished every five to 10 years.
Linda Wong, a member of the Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St. Louis Heights Neighborhood Board, testified against including the parks east of Kapahulu Avenue in the bills, noting that a proposed board of directors that would decide spending of collected revenues does not appear to have any representation from interests east of Kapahulu Avenue.
"No one has asked anyone from east of Kapahulu Avenue if we’d like to represent ourselves along with the fee-simple landowners and commercials among the 25 board members that will have voting jurisdiction of the Waikiki Beach Special Improvement District," Wong said.
Surfrider Foundation spokesman Stuart Coleman agreed.
"It gives too much power to these organizations and businesses that may not have our best interests at heart," he said.
The foundation supports the intent of replenishing the sand at Waikiki Beach and the concept of having businesses pay their share, Coleman said.
"What we have concerns about is the extent of the reach of this — 150 feet out into the ocean and then from the Ala Wai Boat Harbor all the way to Kaimana Beach," Coleman said. "We really believe it should focus on Waikiki Beach and exclude Kapiolani Park and Kaimana Beach."
Coleman was joined by the Kapiolani Park Preservation Society and the Kaimana Beach Coalition.
The opponents insisted that Kaimana and other beaches east of Kapahulu Avenue do not have sand erosion issues like the ones experienced at Waikiki.
But Max Sword, a representative of Outrigger Enterprises, said the current runs from Diamond Head to Ewa, or east to west. "It comes first through the Natatorium area, in front of the (Waikiki) Aquarium and onto the rest of Waikiki, so what happens up there affects what happens on the lower part," Sword said. "The two of these need to go together. Separating them out would be a mistake."
Council Zoning Chairman Ikaika Anderson and Waikiki Councilman Trevor Ozawa said they will try to address concerns raised about the bills at next month’s committee meeting.
The initial plan calls for the district to tax the owners of all commercial properties in Waikiki 7.63 cents per $1,000 of the assessed value of their land with the goal of collecting $600,000 annually.
Waikiki property owners already pay into the Waikiki Business Improvement District fund — anywhere from 12.5 cents to 50 cents per $1,000, depending on their location — that pays for street improvements and security. A beach improvement district fee would be added to those costs.
Several area merchants testified in favor of the bills, arguing that a tax district would ensure the beach is cared for.
Andy Chan, an officer of Island Jewelry Inc., said his company owns three jewelry stores in Waikiki and testified for a dedicated tax. If the beach disappears, he said, "we will lose business to other beautiful and iconic beaches, and thousands of small businesses and workers in Waikiki who depend on the visitor industry will suffer greatly."
