BLNR considers Kahala, Ala Wai permit issues

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources is set to tackle two hot-button issues Friday dealing with commercialized portions of public land at the Kahala Hotel &Resort and the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is recommending that the board renew the Kahala Hotel &Resort’s revocable permit, which expires at year’s end, and amend its permit to allow the property to keep 40 items in the public area, including cabanas, showers, trash cans, hammocks, canoes, beach chairs and storage. DLNR also is rec­ommending that BLNR deny a request for a contested case hearing on the matter.

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources is expected to make a decision on the staff recommendations Friday. The meeting is slated to begin at 9:30 a.m., but discussion on the Kahala Hotel’s revocable permit is the 18th item on the agenda. The meeting will be in the DLNR Board Room on the first floor of the Kalanimoku Building at 1151 Punchbowl Street.

Resorttrust, which owns the Kahala Hotel &Resort, said it is seeking to clarify the language in its revocable permit, which has been issued to various owners since 1968.

But critics see the move as a way for the resort to get some of the protections that it had previously sought in a failed nonexclusive easement attempt. The resort pulled its nonexclusive easement request last year after community protests were mounted from those who feared that the easement could erode Hawaii’s hard-won public beach rights.

Further down on the agenda, DLNR’s Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation is slated to discuss the renewal of HBM LLC’s revocable permit at the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor. The permit covers equipment storage and vessel moorage on a parcel that once was mostly used as a fuel dock facility and retail store.

DOBOR is recommending that BLNR renew the revocable permit until the agency is able to issue a request for proposals to redevelop public lands at the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor, including the area occupied by HBM. DOBOR said its still working with the state Attorney General’s Office to finalize the request for proposals, which BLNR approved issuance of in April.