Kaua'i beach access debated
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — The Kaua'i County Council is launching a new campaign to open beach accesses at the same time the administration is closing them.
Jan TenBruggencate • The Honolulu Advertiser
Council members have been critical of Mayor Maryanne Kusaka's administration for not being aggressive in protecting public access to both the shoreline and mountains.
Kaua'i County Council Chairman Ron Kouchi says Mayor Maryanne Kusaka's administration may have overstepped its authority by closing a trail leading to Queen's Bath.
In the most recent case, the administration said it closed a dedicated public access to Queen's Bath at Princeville because of liability concerns. The county is defending itself against one lawsuit brought by a visitor injured at the site.
Outdoorsman Scott Ferguson of Kapa'a said people should be expected to use common sense, and that the county should be protected from such legal actions. At a County Council meeting last week, he urged county government to petition the state for protection against lawsuits involving accidents on undeveloped wildlands.
"These lawsuits are closing the access to our open and wild environment," he said.
Deputy County Engineer Ian Costa said the Queen's Bath access trail is muddy and treacherous at times, and that visitors have been injured and killed in crashing surf on the rocky coastline around Queen's Bath.
The county has installed concrete barriers to prevent access to the parking area, along with traffic cones and ropes, and a sign announcing that the access is closed.
The trail to Queen's Bath is a sloping dirt path crisscrossed with roots. It runs by a stream, with a waterfall and pool midway, and a waterfall dropping into the ocean at trail's end. The pond itself is a natural depression in a basalt shelf several feet above the ocean.
Jan TenBruggencate • The Honolulu Advertiser
Although the rocks are dry and the pond quiet when the sea is calm, the area can be risky when surf is up. Several members of a family were washed off the rocks earlier this year, and one man died.
While the rocks at Queen's Bath are dry and the pond quiet during calm seas, the area can be risky when surf is up. One man died after being swept off the rocks this year.
Council Chairman Ron Kouchi told the administration Thursday that — except in emergencies — the authority to open and close accesses belongs to the Council. In the case of Queen's Bath, the area has been closed for weeks. "Where is the emergency?" he said.
If the county is considering seasonal closings, that issue should be opened for public discussion, he said.
The county administration in recent months also has been criticized for not protecting public rights of access to a number of other coastline areas, including Kau-ape'a Beach, Papa'a Bay and the shore north of Kealia.
"We're simply getting tired of our rights of access to our lands being taken away," said Kapa'a resident Puanani Rogers, who said she was speaking for Native Hawaiians.
The council responded with a $375,000 appropriation in the coming year's capital improvements budget for a county "public access initiative."
The council budget message said the money is to be used to buy and improve easements to the beaches and mountains "where there is evidence of historic community usage to access beaches and shorelines combined with the close proximity of public roadways."
It calls for the hiring of a consultant and the creation of a citizens advisory panel to make recommendations.
Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.
