Written by: Dakota Grossman

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The state Board of Land and Natural Resources has voted against providing about half of the funding for a $10 million beach restoration and berm enhancement project at Kaanapali Beach, pictured here in 2021. An agreement up for review before the board had proposed that the state and the Kaanapali Operators Association split the costs.

After hearing community opposition to a $10 million beach restoration and berm enhancement project in Kaanapali, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday pulled back from offering half the funding for the project.

The seven-member board voted unanimously against entering an agreement with the Kaanapali Operators Association Inc. for the funding of the project at Hanakaoo.

If the memorandum of understanding had been approved during the board meeting on Friday, KOA would have paid around $5 million for the work and the state would have paid for the rest, but BLNR members agreed that it wasn’t the best use of taxpayer money.

Board Chairperson Dawn Chang said the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ mission is “not to protect private property,” but rather to protect and preserve the public trust.

“Five million for this kind of effort is a lot of money and it’s public resource money for arguably a private endeavor,” Board Member Kaiwi Yoon added. “And I agree with chair, you know, we can do better in protecting public spaces as opposed to private spaces.”

A collapsed beachwalk is seen along the shoreline fronting the Kaanapali Alii in September. A $10 million project aims to combat erosion and sea level rise along Kaanapali Beach. The state land board voted Friday to reject a plan to split the costs of the project with private operators, saying it wasn‘t a good use of taxpayer money.

The beach berm enhancement project seeks to raise the elevation of the beach by 3.5 feet for the section between Hanakaoo Point and Puu Kekaa, also known as Black Rock, which has been subject to higher rates of erosion.

Its intent is to mitigate the impacts of rising water levels and coastal erosion, including sand loss, which has been an issue since 1990, said Michael Cain, the administrator of DLNR’s Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands, on Friday.

This section of coastline is lined with six resorts, including Kaanapali Alii Resort, Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa and Kaanapali Beach Hotel, as well as multiple condominiums, restaurants and shopping areas.

Most of the recent damage, such as the boardwalk that collapsed around six months ago, is fronting the Kaanapali Alii, Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club and the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa.

An increase in human impact can speed erosion — Kaanapali Beach draws about 500,000 visitors annually during a typical year, according to the environmental impact statement for the project.

About 75,000 cubic yards of compatible sand is needed for the restoration project, with 50,000 and 25,000 cubic yards allocated to the Hanakaoo and Kaanapali sections, respectively.

The sand would have to be recovered from an 8.5-acre sand deposit located about 150 feet offshore of Puu Kekaa.

The work would require heavy equipment operating on the beach, and a moored crane barge equipped with a clamshell bucket has been proposed to recover sand.

Doreen Napua Canto, who holds the Maui Nui seat on the BLNR, said “not a day goes by where we see a portion of our beaches slowly disappear.”

“But the reality is we can’t stop it, not now and not ever,” Canto said. “I’m not against beach restoration, I’m against desecration. Dredging the sand will impact the nearshore environment, fishing, lifeguard services, cultural practices and canoe racing. We need to ask ourselves, ‘how can we be better stewards of our ocean for the amount of time we have left with her?’ This is the reality.”

An initial memorandum of understanding between the state and KOA was created in 2014 to split the estimated $800,000 cost of planning and permitting, according to BLNR documents, but there have been major changes in climate since then. Given the trajectory of sea level rise, Board Member Aimee Keli’i Barnes questioned why the department is contemplating spending public funds on a “very expensive and temporary” project.

Several testifiers also voiced their opposition and shared concerns over the environmental, recreational and cultural impacts to the area during work. There were also numerous letters submitted to the board expressing the same sentiment.

Many also said that the money could be better allocated to needs such as adding lifeguard services near Black Rock, getting more DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officers or increasing water quality efforts and programs.

Mark Deakos, chief sustainability officer for 3-P Consulting and founder of West Maui nonprofit Hawaii Association for Marine Education and Research, testified in opposition on Friday.

Besides raising concerns about the project’s study and environmental impacts, Deakos said that these Kaanapali hotels make millions in revenue, so “clearly they don’t need a $5 million subsidy from taxpayers.”

In recent years, hotel and state officials have used the 2012 Waikiki Beach Restoration Project as a successful model for restoration and public-private partnerships, but Lahaina resident Tiare Lawrence described the project as an “epic fail” during testimony on Friday. Lawrence said “the sand is gross” and the surf doesn’t break the same.

The Kaanapali project, she said, “is meant to protect private property, private interest of hotels and tourism.”

Lahaina resident Ke’eaumoku Kapu, head of Na Aikane O Maui Inc., said “we do not support this project” or the agreement because it would damage and use a lot of resources. Retreat is the best option, he said.

Another testifier, Katie Austin, said Friday during the board meeting that the project would cause “detrimental impacts” to the environment and that the agreement would have been a “mismanagement of funds.”

“It’s not our responsibility that those hotels built too close and on top of the sand, it’s not the state’s responsibility to protect their property, nor is it the Department of Land and Natural Resources’,” Austin said. “These hotels knew what they were getting themselves into.”

KOA did not provide testimony Friday.