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Save Our Surf
worried about
Kuhio Beach plan

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By Treena Shapiro
Star-Bulletin

A decade after initiating plans to widen Waikiki's Kuhio Beach, the state has approved a $1.9 million plan to redesign it.

The plan, submitted by Florida consultant Olsen Associates, calls for tearing down the existing cement breakwater and submerged "crib" walls and replacing them with three T-shaped groins to slow crashing waves and reduce beach erosion. The state will also bring in enough sand to widen the dry beach area to approximately three acres from one.

Olsen's plan is a modification of a previous design developed by Honolulu firm Edward K. Noda and Associates. The state decided to hire an independent consultant in November 1999 after the Noda plan drew complaints that removing the breakwaters would lead to even more beach erosion and destroy surfing areas.

After hearing testimony yesterday, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources decided to accept the Olsen plan and, following the recommendations of concerned groups, will present it at a public informational meeting.

George Downing, vice president of Save Our Surf, said he was pleased that the board had decided to make the new plans public in light of the "major" changes to the Noda plan brought to public hearings last year.

The Olsen plan will eliminate Kuhio Beach's Ewa and Diamond Head basins and lead instead to a scalloped beach with four smaller basins.

Downing said the public doesn't realize the wide openings between the proposed T-shaped groins will lead to rougher water conditions near shore.

Young children and non-swimmers rely on the calm waters in the beach's Diamond Head Basin. "This is no longer going to exist," he said.

"Kids and older people, they need protection from wave agitation and mixed use," he said. Removing the submerged walls could lead to surfers and kayakers using the same areas as those who don't swim well.

Downing also expressed concern that the groins will encroach on surf spots and the new sand will drift over and fill the surf sites.

Although Save Our Surf also protested the original Noda design because it removed the crib walls, Downing said the wider openings in Olsen's modification would be even worse.

However, members of the Waikiki Improvement Association testified today that the present breakwaters need to be altered to improve water quality and reduce dangerous conditions involving the eroded and slippery sea wall.

Eric Masutomi, who oversees the community group's beach concerns, said he'd like to see the replenishment of the beach move forward with the engineering design the staff finds most appropriate to improve water quality and safety. "There's not much difference aesthetically between the two," he said.

But while he'd like to see the plans finally implemented, he said, "I don't think our primary concern is just to get it done overnight."

Sam Lemmo, chief planner for the DLNR Land Division, said his timeline won't be affected by the board's recommendations, among them a plea to Noda to work with or contract Olsen for help with the project. He hopes to begin the construction next winter.

"It's no problem, we can do it," he said.