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Land board
told to stop shifting
on Waikiki sand

The state officials could
decide tomorrow on what
plan to use for the beach

---

By Treena Shapiro
Star-Bulletin

Now that the city is nearing completion of its Kuhio Beach Park restoration project, it's time for the state to step in and do its share replenishing the beach, said the chairman of the Waikiki Neighborhood Board.

Sam Bren, a board member for 24 years, said he's disappointed that it's taking so long for the state Board of Land and Natural Resources to make up its mind on how to import more sand and reshape the beach. The project was initiated in the early 1990s.

"They continue to change the method in which they want to do it. Everything is a test," he said. "Just pick one and do it."

The Land Board could decide tomorrow whether to stay with an existing plan or accept improvements and modifications to the plan made by an independent Florida project consultant, Olsen Associates.

Olsen was hired to evaluate a plan submitted by Honolulu firm Edward K. Noda and Associates. The Honolulu plan would take out the existing cement sea or "crib" walls and replace them with Hawaiian lava rock groins to take the brunt of the waves. This plan would retain Kuhio Beach's Ewa and Diamond Head basins.

Olsen, however, suggested replacing the sea walls with smaller T-shaped groins which would lead to a gentle scalloping of the beach in four smaller crescents, rather than the two large ones, adding 0.6 acres more beach, they say.

Sam Lemmo, chief planner for the DLNR Land Division, said his staff recommends focusing energy on the Olsen design. "It seems to be a more optimal solution for Waikiki," he said. "We believe that it will stabilize the beach better. We believe that it's more elegant and aesthetically pleasing."

The Olsen plan is also more cost effective, with estimated costs at $1.95 million, compared with Noda's $2.24 million plan.

Both the Olsen and the Noda plans would protect surf sites, he said.

Lemmo said the earliest the state's beach improvements could begin is winter 2001.

Bren said any further delay will cost the state millions in tourist dollars. "The city's portion of Kuhio Beach is a tremendous improvement, but Kuhio Beach will not handle the number of visitors it would be able to handle if the state put in the sand which they have promised to do so for years."