By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Q. Is it legal for people to conduct major excavations of the beach in front of their houses, as is now being done by Ke Nui Road residents at Rocky Point on the North Shore? The owners have brought in bulldozers to move tons of sand up to the beach to enhance the size of the fronts of the private properties.

A. Deborah Ward, spokeswoman for the Department of Land and Natural Resources, said lifeguards also complained about sand-pushing activities on the North Shore.

"Technically, it's not illegal to push the sand from one side of an active beach to another, but they need authorization," she said.

In this case, the landowners did not obtain permits from the state or city, which have overlapping jurisdiction in the area, so DLNR will work with the city on possible enforcement and to determine what penalties might apply.

Landowners have been moving the sand annually for years, and may have assumed they had blanket permission to continue in an attempt to prevent erosion of the beach near their houses, Ward said.

However, "sand pushing is an ineffective attempt at protecting coastal property, and may even worsen erosion," Ward said.

"In this case, it may have created public health and safety issues for a few days," she added. The excavation created a little lagoon — a barrier for all-terrain vehicles used by lifeguards — and a hazard for children.

After reading last week's Bureaucracy Buster item on a mechanic repairing and selling cars at his home, Kimo Pierce of the Hawai'i Independent Auto Dealers Association pointed to a new state law that prohibits an individual from selling more than two cars per year without a dealer's license. Since license holders are regulated, consumers can go to the dealer or the state if there is a problem with the sale, Pierce said.

Jo Ann Uchida, head of the Regulated Industries Complaint Office, said there are several exemptions to the new law, including one that allows people to dispose of their personal, family or business vehicles, as long as the vehicles are bought and sold in good faith and not to evade the law.

However, a mechanic selling cars as part of a business would be required to get a license. Penalties range from $500 to $2,500 per violation, which can be per day or per sale.

To report an unlicensed business, call the state Consumer Resource Center at 587-3222.

Do you ever get frustrated or confused trying to navigate the various layers of government? Are you looking for an answer to a simple question but can't figure out where to start? If you have a question or a problem and need help getting to the right person, you can reach The Bureaucracy Buster one of three ways:

• E-mail: buster@honoluluadvertiser.com

• Phone: 535-2454 and leave a message.

Be sure to give us your name and daytime telephone number.