Kaua'i closer to getting land gift
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau
KEALIA, Kaua'i — The county is poised to take over a two-mile stretch of rugged coastline north of Kealia Beach, a gift from developer Tom McCloskey that became controversial when he asked to post private security patrols there and limit hours of public access.
Jan TenBruggencate • The Honolulu Advertiser
The land is far in excess of McCloskey's requirement to provide county park land as a condition of approval for his 300-acre Kealia Kai agricultural subdivision. It contains an eroded length of plantation road, one long sandy beach and a couple of smaller sandy beaches.
Kuna Beach is part of a 59-acre stretch of coastline that Kaua'i County would receive from developer Tom McCloskey. The area also is called Donkey Beach, named for a plantation donkey pasture that was said to have been nearby.
McCloskey originally proposed the land donation with conditions allowing security patrols and limited access. The developer's representatives and Mayor Maryanne Kusaka favored the security in part because the area has become known as a favorite for nude sunbathing, a practice they hoped security officers would discourage.
An aggressive grass-roots campaign by beachgoers sought to block those conditions. They got support from the County Council after presenting the lawmakers with photographs showing security officers raking sand immediately next to sunbathers and riding all-terrain vehicles on Kuna Beach, a crescent of white sand that is also known as Donkey Beach.
After the council rejected McCloskey's proposal, the developer was faced with deleting the conditions or selling lots on which the county would not issue building permits. Planning Director Dee Crowell said that while final subdivision approval had been granted, no building permits would be issued until all its conditions — including the granting of the coastline to the county — were fulfilled.
Kusaka has transmitted a dedication deed to the council. If the council approves the dedication, the county may temporarily post portions of the area for daylight recreation only. The county needs to make safety improvements to collapsed portions of the cane road before they can be used at night, the mayor said.
Kusaka said she ordered the county engineer to make an assessment of the hazards on the property.
