Kahala hotel keeps silent on beach plans

The Waialae-Kahala Neighborhood Board and community members are concerned the Kahala Hotel & Resort is attempting to bypass public input in its quest for permission to use the public beach fronting the hotel for commercial enterprises.

The Kahala Hotel & Resort failed for a second time to give a formal presentation to the neighborhood board at a meeting Thursday about the plans outlined in its April 23 draft environmental assessment. A representative from PBR Hawaii, the consultant of hotel owner Resorttrust, also declined to give a presentation at the board’s June meeting.

The hotel has said it wants to offer torch-lighting ceremonies and rides in traditional sailing outrigger canoes at the beach. It also plans to expand its outdoor wedding ceremonies to three state parcels from two. In return, it says it would make about $900,000 in improvements, including beach enhancements.

The hotel needs the approval of the state Board of Land and Natural Resources to get an easement to use public shoreline for commercial enterprises.

But so far, the concept has not been well received by the neighborhood board or the community members attending their meetings.

“I never got the information until after the 30-day public comment period had lapsed,” said Waialae-Kahala Neighborhood Board Chairman Richard Turbin.

Law requires that the draft environmental assessment must be sent to interested stakeholders. While there isn’t a list of stakeholders, Surfrider Foundation’s Matt Moore said PBR Hawaii typically would have alerted the environmental advocacy group.

“We are very concerned that the neighborhood board, the Surfrider Foundation and the Sierra Club were not given the opportunity to comment,” Moore said. “This is one of our biggest shoreline access issues. If they get this easement, interest in additional commercial beach use would grow statewide.”

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources said Turbin asked it to extend the comment period. DLNR Chairwoman Suzanne Case sent a June 28 letter to the hotel’s representative asking that it consider refiling the draft environmental assessment to trigger an additional 30-day comment period. The law does not allow DLNR to force the Kahala to refile.

So far, Case’s request has gone unanswered. However, a letter from Resorttrust’s representative Duke Ueda was hand-delivered to Turbin prior to Thursday’s meeting.

“Resorttrust is very serious about its responsibility for this beautiful and cherished property and its commitment to be a good neighbor,” Ueda said in the letter. “We regret that we are not yet able to give a presentation, but want to provide the neighborhood board with a worthwhile presentation, and that can be done only after we have thoroughly considered the concerns.”

Turbin read the letter aloud, but it didn’t appease meeting attendees, who fear that their concerns will be circumvented.

Diamond Head resident Linda Wong said she’s not happy that the hotel does not have to respond to comments made outside of the draft environmental assessment. Wong said she is strongly opposed to giving the hotel “a precedent- setting” easement.

“No other hotel in the state currently has an easement similar to what Kahala is looking to apply for,” said DLNR spokeswoman Deborah Ward. “Four Seasons on Maui did seek a somewhat similar easement, but withdrew that request before any easement document could be issued.”

If the measure moves forward, Wong and other critics fear an easement would favor business interests at public expense. Resorttrust already is violating the terms of its revocable permit by presetting chairs on the beach without DLNR approval, Wong said. The $1,262 monthly permit fee that Resorttrust pays to DLNR is too low considering that the hotel’s wedding packages start at $3,600 for an hour’s use of the site, she said.

Sierra Club’s David Raney agrees that the public benefits described in the draft are “very vague.” More permits should be required along with a more extended public comment period, Raney said.

Kathy Sokugawa, acting director of the city’s Department of Planning and Permitting, did not attend the meeting; however, her May 23 response to Resorttrust’s draft environmental assessment indicates that the city also wants more information and might require additional steps, including a special management area use permit and a shoreline variance.