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Shoreline Access
#11
thanks for explainging sbaker ...

I ran a search or two and found a few documents you might like to look at.

Hawaii Revised Statutes
HRS §115-4 & HRS §115-5)
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent...5-0005.htm

[§115-5] Transit area and public transit corridor defined. The right of transit along the shoreline exists below the private property line which is defined as being along the upper reaches of the wash of waves, usually evidenced by the edge of vegetation or by the debris left by the wash of waves.

However, in areas of cliffs or areas where the nature of the topography is such that there is no reasonably safe transit for the public along the shoreline below the private property lines, the counties by condemnation shall establish along the makai boundaries of the property lines public transit corridors which shall be not less than six feet wide. [L 1974, c 244, §5]
_________________________________

HRS 205-A
Special Management Area Guidelines (if you are in an SMA)

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent...A-0026.htm

___________________________________

Hawaii County Code Chapter 34 -- Public Access
http://co.hawaii.hi.us/countycode/chapter34.pdf

__________________________________

a statement from the DNLR:
http://www.eng.hawaii.edu/~hals/Shorelin...0Young.pdf

"we recognize the importance of lateral shoreline access over state-owned lands for recreation, native gathering practices and other purposes.
State law states that the right of access to Hawaii's shorelines includes the right of transit along the shorelines. (HRS §115-4) The right of transit along the shoreline exists below the private property line. (HRS §115-5)
_______________________________

DLNR
http://www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/Public%20Acce...elines.pdf
Public Access on Beaches and Shorelines

• The public has a right of access to and along all beaches and shorelines in the State situated below the
"upper reaches of the wash of the waves." HRS Secs. 115-4 & 115-5.

• Generally, the Counties have the primary authority and duty to develop and maintain public access to
and along the shorelines. HRS Secs. 46-6.5, 115-5 & 115-7.

• The State's primary role in the shoreline area is to preserve and protect coastal resources within the
conservation district and support public access along and below the shoreline. HRS Chap. 205A.

• In limited circumstances, the State, under its Na Ala Hele Program, is responsible for management
and maintenance of public rights-of-way that are part of the Na Ala Hele trail system of "ancient
trails" that are identified and established public trails with documented historical use and significance.
Unlike other public rights-of ways that may exist by virtue of an easement, the Na Ala Hele trails are
owned by the State and may lead to and from the shoreline and also provide lateral access along
shorelines. HRS Sec. 264-1.

• An inventory of public rights-of-ways should be available at the respective County planning offices
and a list of Na Ala Hele trails are available at DLNR's Na Ala Hele Division.

• Members of the public seeking the establishment or enforcement of public beach access should seek
the assistance of the appropriate County agencies tasked with that responsibility.

• The State, and DLNR in particular, has been eagerly supportive of County efforts to establish and
maintain public access.

• If private homeowners are obstructing existing public rights-of-way to the shoreline, HRS Sec. 115-9
provides a remedy and up to a $2000 penalty for that kind of situation.

§115-2 Acquisition of lands for public rights-of-way and public transit corridors.

When the provisions of section 46-6.5 are not applicable, the various counties shall purchase land for public rights-
of-way to the shorelines, the sea, and inland recreational areas, and for public transit corridors where topography is such that safe transit does not exist. [L 1974, c 244, §2; am L 1977, c 164, §4]

[§115-3] Criteria for public rights-of-way. A distance at reasonable intervals taking into consideration
the topography and physical characteristics of the land the public is desirous of reaching is established as
the maximum between public rights-of-way for the purposes of this chapter. [L 1974, c 244, §3]

§115-4 Right of transit along shorelines. The right of access to Hawaii's shorelines includes the right of
transit along the shorelines. [L 1974, c 244, §4; am L 1991, c 37, §2]

[§115-5] Transit area and public transit corridor defined.

The right of transit along the shoreline exists below the private property line which is defined as being along the upper reaches of the wash of waves, usually evidenced by the edge of vegetation or by the debris left by the wash of waves.

However, in areas of cliffs or areas where the nature of the topography is such that there is no reasonably safe transit for the public along the shoreline below the private property lines, the counties by condemnation shall
establish along the makai boundaries of the property lines public transit corridors which shall be not less
than six feet wide. [L 1974, c 244, §5]

[§115-7] State and county co-sponsorship of programs. The department of land and natural resources
shall enter into agreements with the council of any county providing for the acquisition of public rights-
of-way and public transit corridors pursuant to this chapter; provided that the county shall match the funds
which have been appropriated by the legislature. The development and maintenance of the rights-of-way
and public transit corridors shall be the responsibility of the county. [L 1974, c 244, §7]

[§115-9] Obstructing access to public property; penalty.

(a) A person commits the offense of
obstructing access to public property if the person, by action or by having installed a physical
impediment, intentionally prevents a member of the public from traversing:
(1) A public right-of-way;
(2) A transit area; or
(3) A public transit corridor;
and thereby obstructs access to the sea, the shoreline, or any inland public recreational area.

(b) Physical impediments that may prevent traversing include but are not limited to the following:
(1) Gates;
(2) Fences;
(3) Walls;
(4) Constructed barriers;
(5) Rubbish;
(6) Security guards; and
(7) Guard dogs or animals.

© Obstructing access to public property is a misdemeanor.

(d) Minimum fines for violation under this section shall be as follows:
(1) $1,000 for a second conviction; and
(2) $2,000 for any conviction after a second conviction.
(e) As used in this section:
"Person" means a natural person or a legal entity.
"Public recreational area" means public lands or bodies of water opened to the public for recreational use.
[L 2004, c 169, §2]

[§46-6.5] Public access.

(a) Each county shall adopt ordinances which shall require a subdivider or developer, as a condition precedent to final approval of a subdivision, in cases where public access is not already provided, to dedicate land for public access by right-of-way or easement for pedestrian travel
from a public highway or public streets to the land below the high-water mark on any coastal shoreline,
and to dedicate land for public access by right of way from a public highway to areas in the mountains
where there are existing facilities for hiking, hunting, fruit-picking, ti-leaf sliding, and other recreational
purposes, and where there are existing mountain trails.

(b) These ordinances shall be adopted within one year of May 22, 1973.

© Upon the dedication of land for a right-of-way, as required by this section and acceptance by
the county, the county concerned shall thereafter assume the cost of improvements for and the
maintenance of the right-of-way, and the subdivider shall accordingly be relieved from such costs.

(d) For the purposes of this section, "subdivision" means any land which is divided or is proposed
to be divided for the purpose of disposition into six or more lots, parcels, units, or interests and also
includes any land whether contiguous or not, if six or more lots are offered as part of a common
promotional plan of advertising and sale.

(e) The right-of-way shall be clearly designated on the final map of the subdivision or development.

(f) This section shall apply to the plan of any subdivision or development which has not been
approved by the respective counties prior to July 1, 1973. [L 1973, c 143, §2]

When the shoreline erodes, lateral access is not lost; instead, the State’s acquires title to the newly eroded lands. (Application of Sanborn, 57 Haw. 585, 562 P.2d 771 (1997)) In other words, the public continues to have access along the shoreline to the upper reaches of the wash of the waves.
____________
Some case law involving PASH

http://www.hawaii-nation.org/pash.html
Sections 4 and 5 contain an historical overview of the evolution of private property in Hawai`i that I find very educational.

Hope some of this reading helps ...
Did not stumble on anything specific to HPP yet, but there is plenty of reference in this material to shoreline areas that consist of cliffs running along the high water wash, which I believe would apply to HPP.

Edited by - KathyH on 10/22/2007 09:21:04

Edited by - KathyH on 10/22/2007 09:24:34
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#12
here is also a link to a 2005 doc on the HPP master plan, which has the following to say about the shoreline:

http://www.hawaiianparadisepark.org/Mast...chor504955

"In early 1996, the Community Action Committee held two meetings at which changes were made to accommodate the desire of the community. The changes to the initial concept map are as follows:

The shoreline extended park area stretching the full length of the subdivision's shoreline has been deleted and will remain zoned agricultural. The reason for this change is the history of this area and the hard-fought court battle between current residents of that area and the county to allow building.

Prior to its current Ag zoning, it was zoned conservation which did not allow for residences to be built. It is possible that through dedication of lands through gifts to Paradise Hui Hanalike that it may become a park but our plan should not be tied to that premise."

While this is only a guess, it sounds to me like the access easement over the oceanfront properties that runs above the high water wash might have been a trade-off for converting conservation zoning to ag ... without which zoning change your parcel would be unbuildable (per this doc). I would be interested to know if in fact that's what occurred.

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#13
quote:
Walter is witht he HPP Neighborhood Watch, also for any documentation...



Walter is a long time resident of HPP and was the Association President for some years, I believe.

Catherine Dumond
Blue Water Project Management
808 217-7578
http://bluewaterpm.125mb.com/index.html
"We help make building your dream home a reality"
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#14
There may also be some features on the site itself which will also shape the construction of a house there. The last set of drawings I worked on for a shoreline house in Paradise Park had some petroglyphs in the front yard that were required to be preserved as well as some native vegetation. The homeowners considered it a privilege to be stewards of the land and cultural history and they worked it into a nice landscaping feature.

Any sub-division documents would be in addition to any County, State and Federal documents, they would not and can not supersede any of the others. Sometimes the County doesn't enforce sub-division documents but leaves that up to the sub-division itself. Also, many times they will know the rules to be enforced but now how the rules got there.

There have been several instances of folks trying to deny public access rights to either the ocean or the mountains and after the court case is settled (almost always in favor of the public access) there is still a lot of resentment - even years later - that the folks had to cause trouble to keep going where they had always gone.



"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales." 
Kurt Wilson
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#15
I spoke with Larry Brown at Planning just a few minutes ago about this topic specifically. He said and I quote " the rule is 60' setback from the ocean that you may not landscape, grade, fence or otherwise limit lateral access". By lateral access he explained it meant across the ocean-side where fisherman walk through the "ocean view". He said there are spots in HPP that serve as street access to the lateral access already.

Catherine Dumond
Blue Water Project Management
808 217-7578
http://bluewaterpm.125mb.com/index.html
"We help make building your dream home a reality"
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#16
When I went to the “Planning Department” to investigate a HPP shoreline lot - they brought out the files on the lot and the two adjoining lots. In the files of the lot for sale and the next adjacent “vacant” lot were TMK/PLAT maps with a “red penciled” line along the common property line - I was told that it signified a “shoreline access” and that “shoreline access” was required every 1,000 feet of shoreline. I was shown (but not given a copy - I did not own the lot) of a flyer of sorts that described a five foot access along the lot boundary from the road to the shore. I was told that if I bought the property and applied for a building permit - I would need to sign something that stated it would be my responsibility to insure that the five foot access would be available for “shoreline access” - no fencing - no plantings - NOTHING - within this five foot access. I would also have to “buy” a “shoreline access” sign that they have available and post it. This five feet also applied to the adjacent lot and would make a ten foot corridor - the roads in HPP are ten feet wide!

Section 34-7. Width of public access.
The public access shall have a minimum width of ten feet.
(1996, Ord. No. 96-17, sec. 2.)

I went and checked the “Grant Deed - Title” of the property - nothing about this. No easement - NADA!
I talked to the listing agent - why didn’t he know about this? It was “News” to him too.
Conference call with the owners/sellers - why didn’t they disclose this? It was “News” to them also!

We know that in Hawaii; the shore/beaches are state land and need to be accessible to everyone - We honor and respect this.
We do not condone the attitude “it’s O.K. for everyone else - but not in my backyard”; that is not how to make Hawai’i our home. We truly want to embrace Hawai’i and everything it has to offer - the good and bad - of it’s land, it’s culture and it’s people.

We bought the lot. We are willing to share our good fortune - are designing our home with “shoreline access” in mind - BUT - we have some questions? Punaweb might not have the answers but until we can get back - it’s a start.
I have scoured the internet and found a lot of information on “shoreline access”. It is described throughly in the following websites:
http://co.hawaii.hi.us/countycode/chapter34.pdf
http://www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/Public%20Acce...elines.pdf
I was going to cut and paste all that pertains but then this posting would be a BOOK. So , I only did a little and it’s still very long - Sorry.
In all the info. I’ve found “easement” seems to be the BIG word. An easement is a legal method of acquiring access to/thru property. I repeat myself - there is no “easement” on my deed/title. So how can the “County” arbitrarily draw a line on a map and make one? If it’s every 1,000 feet - who decides where it starts and ends?
In Hpp there are several areas designated for county parks along the shoreline with “shoreline access”. The only one the “County” recognizes at this time is along Beach Road - between the boulders and Kaloli - it is found on the following map “Puna District” “Shoreline Public Access Ways”:
http://co.hawaii.hi.us/planning/spa/puna/map1.html

The only way I found around individual easements was “Dedication of Access”.

Article 4. Dedication of Access.
Section 34-8. Subdivision of land.
(a) Upon review of a subdivision application, when it is determined that public access must be provided, the subdivider shall file the executed documents for dedication of the public access, free and clear of all encumbrances with the director.
PUBLIC ACCESS § 34-8
34-5
(b) Prior to final subdivision approval, the dedication documents shall be reviewed and approved as to its form and content by the appropriate agencies. The director may thereafter grant approval to the subdivision in accordance with the subdivision rules and regulations of the County.
© The public access shall be clearly designated on the final map of the subdivision in accordance with the subdivision rules and regulations.
(1996, Ord. No. 96-17, sec. 2.)

In all my searching so far - in HPP this never happened. All they did in 1996 or there about, was change zoning to allow homes to be built.

And if a dedication was done it further states that the “County” is responsible for improvements and maintenance.

Section 34-10. Responsibility for cost of improvements and maintenance.
Upon the acceptance of the dedication of land for a right-of-way for public access by the County, the County shall thereafter assume the cost of improvements for and the maintenance of the public access, unless
the subdivider or developer agrees to assume such cost and maintenance. Provided that when a right-of-way is
to be dedicated for public access pursuant to article 2, section 34-4(d) of this chapter, the County shall not be
obligated to maintain the public access until the entire length of the desired access has been dedicated to the
County.
(1996, Ord. No. 96-17, sec. 2.)

As I walked around HPP and “talk story” - I heard of problems with drugs,etc. associated with the open area at the end of “Ala Heaiu”. How do I avoid/diminish this happening in back/front of my home? The roads are only ten feet wide - What about parking? The access will be ten feet wide - how do I avoid/diminish parking along it? How come NOBODY knew about this? Is the “County” red pencil that strong?

In the end - we will make do as best we can and hope for the best - BUT?????????

Mahalo nui loa

Joey "O"


Edited by - Menehune on 10/23/2007 13:01:10

Edited by - Menehune on 10/23/2007 14:32:35
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#17
I had heard that oceanfront access was legal to anyone, but as a tourist, I felt vulnerable to neighbors in the region, who may feel that I was a nuisance/danger to them. It appears that this purely Hawaiian situation could have two edges - vandalism to either ones home or ones vehicle! Maybe if we routinely knock on the doors where these signs are posted, and spell out our intent (fishing, wading, paddling) and timespan involved, it would preserve the Aloha spirit so we can confidently share the joy from this resource, eh?

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#18
"The setback and public access requirement were not mentioned or disclosed at purchase of the property."

I might be a minority here but I don't think you legally have to provide access if the Public Access is not in your deed as an easement. The COH addressed this issue at the time of issuing the subdivision permit and all lots with public access easement have been designated back then.

The "right to gather for cultural and religious reasons" is more known as the PASH, but it does not apply to subdivisions and non-subdivision lots smaller than one acre. Your deed should include the PASH if your property is subjected to it.
You might want to talk to a real estate attorney and certainly talk to your title insurance company.

Aloha,
John S. Rabi, ABR,CM,CRB,FHS,RB
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
"The Next Level of Service!"
This is what I think of the Kona Board of Realtors: http://www.nsm88.org/aboutus.html

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#19
This may help:
http://www.state.hi.us/jud/opinions/sct/2006/26997.htm

I also found out that an access easement is what the County has recorded, not what any paper you posses states. Apparently people have had documents prepared to delete certain important facts, so it's the County's documents that rule.


Edited by - Bob Orts on 10/23/2007 16:41:02
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#20
quote:
I had heard that oceanfront access was legal to anyone, but as a tourist, I felt vulnerable to neighbors in the region, who may feel that I was a nuisance/danger to them. It appears that this purely Hawaiian situation could have two edges - vandalism to either ones home or ones vehicle...


This is pretty much the same thing I think that residents/tourists/beach visitors go through in Malibu where the side property fences go right to the edge of the high tide mark so that at high tide you cant walk down the beach and stay dry.

Well i think we have much more aloha here and IMHO the fisherman do so little to cause trouble that access should not be an issue. Scott's original question pertained to access and insurance issues. I am curious as to what the insurance companies require a lot owner to do to limit liability.
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