The state has withdrawn support for the long-planned Kaanapali beach restoration project.
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80 thoughts on “Restoration of Award-Winning Kaanapali Beach Canceled”
The state has withdrawn support for the long-planned Kaanapali beach restoration project.
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Well, looks like Maui may be looking at shooting itself in the foot on the beach replenishment project. I seems that DLNR is taking an ‘environmental’ versus ‘business’ approach to this project, as HI often likes to bill itself. But, if they let the beaches go and proudly stand on the rocks and say, this is nature doing what nature does, why should the tourists who occupy the hotels, etc., continue to come to Maui? To visit the rocks? For the ‘food’? To see the ‘needle’ or drive to Hana? Do they really think ‘culture’ will drive tourism???
So, hotels cutback staffing, or close out right due to non-profitability. Locals cry, “What about our jobs!?”
The ‘love/hate’ HI has with tourism isn’t going to solve itself by letting the beaches wash away, and it will probably exaserbate the wage/job and housing affordability issues. So what is the end result of DLNR’s stance, and will the people of HI benefit from the disappearing beaches?
Do what’s best for nature.
Hello, we have already planned a stay at the Hyatt on Kanapali Beach and this worries me. We r going in March and hoping the beach will still be intact. Please let me know if we should go elsewhere.
I agree that the Kaanapali walkway should not be refurbished. Maui, and all of Hawaii, should be preserved as it stands now, without further building, which could harm it’s natural beauty and wildlife. I am a visitor to Maui often and try to leave a minimal footprint while there.
I have also visited the Outer Banks of No.Carolina. The islands there have shut down some beaches for preservation since I first started visiting because of too much human traffic. I hope Maui and all of Hawaii can do the same soon.
What total horse pooie. For the same entities the originally approved permits for the construction of the properties to claim they shouldn’t have been built is totally lame and a complete cop out. Work something out.
How might this affect our October trip to Ka’anapali Beach Hotel?
It won’t. Just come and enjoy yourself 🌞
Beth
Linda B … unless there is a big change that has happened, it won’t. The worst of if is at the Alii (sp).
Thanks for the article, BOH. We’ve been in West Maui for several months and walk the Kaanapali Beach path nearly every day. Over the years, we have seen parts of the beach come and go, and come back again. It seems to be cyclical.
The number of jobs and the billions of tax dollars brought in at Kaanapali is staggering. It would be interesting to see what all the people of Hawaii think of losing this source of income, not just people who make comments on BOH and other forums.
The shoreline and beaches from Kaanapali to Honokowai were pristine before all the development. This land was our ‘Ohana and my father would spear fish here with his tutukane while tutuwahine would wait for them to return. The over-developed construction contributed to the erosion and there is always a price to pay….
Curtis those are wonderful memories. With the establishment of Resorts and Hotels being popularized for their close proximity to the beaches and ocean have had a “limited effect” but not to say none. What is effecting the erosion most is the Wave Motion of the Ocean coupled with Storms of medium to High Intensity such as Hurricanes. This has been identified by Native Hawaiians for Hundreds of Years. Unfortunately some of the Storms have Intensified causing more erosion than we have seen in the previous 80 years. Transient use of the water and beaches doesn’t cause what is being seen, neither does a Resort that sits 100 yards from the beach. It’s a Fallacy being perpetrated for nefarious reasons.
While I’m not a fan of all the hotels that have been bilt on the Kaannapali beach area, and continue to be permitted to be bilt, they are an easy target for those who want to return HI, and the beaches in particular, to ‘the good ol’ days’. Hotels don’t cause beach erosion, nature/weather does. The hotels are a ‘blight’, both visual and environmental, but it’s not likely they are going to get knocked down to return the area to some semblance of ‘the good ol’ days’ people like to wistfully talk about.
Any decision made, someone will be paying for something… either to nourish the beach or compensate these businesses giving up oceanfront real-estate. Unfortunately, it’s the locals who bear most of it. This is their home, most of us are just visiting.
In NC, specifically the OBX, beach nourishment is absolutely necessary every so many years or else those barrier islands wouldnt be there… or at least the homes and businesses wouldn’t. I’ve often wondered how the machines the use to complete these projects affect sea life.
I think you are correct that there has been a change in attitude about such projects at DLNR, but I got the idea that the DLNR’s position was more that it wasn’t an appropriate use of public money, rather than it couldn’t be done. I wonder if they would be more agreeable if KOA funded the whole thing itself.
Whether sand nourishment is the best solution is a question for the EIS to resolve. I don’t have the source, but a Sea Grant researcher told me that bioabundance showed increases, including coral and tako, at Iroquois Point after that project was completed. Results undoubtedly vary by site, as each is different. Better than letting the buildings and sidewalks fall into the sea.
It’s True that Reclaiming the Beach Sand does have Beneficial Effects on The Reefs and Marine Life, research has proven this. Those neighsayors either are uneducated to the facts or have some other agenda. The Beaches should be resanded for viability knowing that it is a Win/Win in Many Ways. Since when has Hawaii been known to Skimp and Shy Away from spending Money? Is it because they only have to pay for Half of the project? If the DNR had to pay 100% would it be no problem? Something isn’t right here.