North Shore project
stands firm

The planned home development
gets the Council's OK despite
concerns of erosion

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By Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.com

A gated, 29-lot subdivision at the North Shore's Kaunala Beach near the popular Velzyland surf spot has been given clearance by the City Council despite concerns about shoreline erosion.

The 19-acre property, being developed by D.G. "Andy" Anderson's Kaunala Beach Estates LLC, received 8-1 approval by the Council yesterday for a special management area use permit. Councilman Steve Holmes was the sole dissenting vote.

The approval yesterday allows Anderson to proceed with a 60-foot setback for the 16 planned oceanfront lots.

The city Planning and Permitting Department had recommended that a stipulation be included with the permit requiring that the setback be changed if further studies determined 60 feet to be inadequate but the Council deleted that section before the final vote.

A number of people, including a specialist with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, raised questions about shoreline erosion.

Sam Lemmo, who heads the department's coastal lands program, said the developer should be required to conduct a shoreline erosion study before being allowed to proceed with its project.

Lemmo said he believes buildings should be set back at least 80 feet based on a quick, unscientific calculation factoring in a 60-year life span for homes and erosion of half a foot each year.

"We do have serious erosion problems across the state," Lemmo told Council members. "If you look at the North Shore, there are a lot of houses that are threatened by erosion."

Anderson told Council members he believed the 60-foot requirement was satisfactory. While there was erosion some years ago, he said, the shoreline at Kaunala is now actually increasing. He also called it unfair for the issue to be discussed just as they were about to take a final vote.

"We've done everything we've been asked to do by this administration," Anderson said, including giving property for parks, access roads and other improvements.

"But to have someone from DLNR over there determine one month, two months, three months from now, determine that it should be 93 feet is crazy," Anderson said. "There's no way that we can sit down and pencil this project."

Several Council members said before the vote they agreed with Anderson's dilemma.

"If we had more time we could have done more," said Councilwoman Rene Mansho, who represents the North Shore region.

Councilman Romy Cachola suggested that Lemmo take his concerns to the state Legislature so that his agency could gain jurisdiction over shoreline setbacks.

North Shore resident Carol Phillips said she is skeptical that the Council made the right decision.

"The North Shore has the largest surf in the world," she said. "This is not the south shore or the east shore."