Limits loom
for beach
concessions

The director of the state
Land Board aims to restrict
businesses at Kaanapali
on Maui

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By Gary T. Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.com

KAANAPALI, Maui >> State Land Board Chairman Peter T. Young said he wants to limit the areas where commercial rental equipment can be kept on Kaanapali Beach in west Maui, including hotel cabanas.

Young said he also would like to see equipment rentals allowed on the beach only from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Young said he is developing a proposed land-management permit process that will include the ideas and maintain open space for the public.

"The beach isn't for sale, and we want to keep it open to the public," he said.

Under state Board of Land and Natural Resources rules, commercial recreational vendors at Kaanapali must have ocean-recreation permits to rent equipment on the beach. But because the permits apply only to the ocean, there are no guidelines about where to keep the rental equipment.

Young, who discussed the idea of a land-management permit with hotel and resort officials in Kaanapali yesterday, said he will be talking with commercial Kaanapali Beach vendors before developing a final draft.

In the meantime, he said, he has asked hotel and resort officials to propose the number of cabanas they think should be allowed on Kaanapali Beach.

Shelley Kekuna, marketing director for the Kaanapali Beach Resort Association, said she felt Young was genuinely concerned about protecting Kaanapali Beach as a natural resource.

"It's a great beach, and we don't want to abuse it," she said. "I think something needs to be done before it gets out of hand."

Cy Miyamoto, whose business provides surfing instruction at Kaanapali Beach, said he supported limiting the space for commercial rental equipment so long as the restrictions applied to all businesses, including the hotels.

Miyamoto said the state may be able to allow vendors to have a certain amount of beach for depositing their equipment. But he said with the seasonal shifts in the configuration of the beach, designating a specific location for the equipment would be difficult.