Posted on: Saturday, August 4, 2001

Maui beach vendor signs to come down

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau

WAILUKU, Maui — A Maui judge yesterday stopped short of banning vendors from Ka'anapali Beach and instead ordered the removal of signs that advertise their services.

"It's something we can live with,'' said Andrew Von Sonn, attorney for John Belles Jr. of Blue Water Surf, one of two beach vendors named in a lawsuit by the Ka'anapali Beach Resort Association.

J.P. Schmidt, the association's attorney, said that while 2nd Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza's preliminary injunction does not force the vendors off the beach, it does clean up the advertising signs of the most "egregious'' vendors.

Schmidt said he hopes the state, another defendant in the suit, uses the ruling to clear out other signs used for soliciting business on the beach.

State officials had testified that a previous court ruling had hamstrung enforcement of the solicitation law. The ruling held that the solicitation must involve a verbal offer overheard by a witness.

But Cardoza said yesterday that solicitation includes not only verbal acts but signs that offer equipment for rental, lessons and price lists. The signs, he said, aren't necessary for customers, who should have made prior arrangements for lessons or rentals.

However, he did say signs that show the location of the vendor are allowed. Also permitted, he said, is unsolicited walk-up business.

Schmidt said the association plans to move forward with a trial to establish a precedent that will allow the state to clear Ka'anapali Beach of vendors and the clutter that comes with them. He said the tents, umbrellas and signs touting kayak, bodyboard and surfboard lessons and rentals give the beach a "Third World" appearance.

The vendors, including Dave Flavin, owner of the Maui Beach Club, say they provide a service to the public and are no worse than the hotels that place cabanas on the sand.

Schmidt argued that state law prohibits running a business on the beach, but Cardoza indicated he wasn't ready to rule on that point. The judge also declined to address the association's contention that the signs are a violation of the Maui County sign ordinance.

Cardoza, who heard arguments during several court sessions over the past two months, acknowledged there are "serious concerns'' regarding the activities on Ka'anapali Beach.

He encouraged the parties to resolve the dispute outside of court and to keep in mind that the beach is for everyone.

In the meantime, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources is in the process of developing rules for commercial activity at Ka'anapali that should allow for regulation of the beach as a whole.

A shoreline survey that will pinpoint the boundaries of the five-mile-long beach and assist in regulation is nearly complete, said Chuck Penque, Maui District manager with the Department of Land and Natural Resources' Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.