Posted on: Thursday, October 7, 2004

Owner changing plan for oceanfront fence

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

KAHALA — After receiving a slew of comments, an ocean-front property owner will amend his original plans for a fence that residents feared was too much like a seawall.

The new design will be a sturdier fence and post system instead of a solid, continuous concrete footing similar to a seawall, his consultant said.

Property owner Ned Weldon is trying to replace a fence that washed away during a rainstorm in February, said the consultant, Don Clegg. The home in the 4700 block of Kahala Avenue is next to a drainage canal, and storm water undermined the footings of the fence, he said.

The plans were amended recently because of comments from residents who objected to the solid concrete footings and said the fence would resemble a seawall.

The fence will be along the property's oceanfront and angle toward the drainage canal, but it requires city permission because it's within 40 feet of the shoreline.

"The owners want the fence to let people know it's not a public place," Clegg told the Wai'alae Kahala Neighborhood Board recently. "They want to secure the property from loose dogs. They will put horizontal tension wires up to four to five feet off the ground."

The owners are seeking permission for the fence and after-the-fact permission for 93 tons of sand placed within the shoreline setback to level off the property.

The city, which issues permits for residents who want to build walls and add sand to the shoreline, asked residents to submit comments. The developer is now in the process of responding. The next step is for the owner to file a final environmental assessment and ask the city for a shoreline setback variance for the fence and the sand.

The community will have another opportunity to submit testimony at a public hearing held by the city Department of Planning and Permitting. No date has been set yet for that hearing.

"Because of the ocean and the storm drain next door, we're asking for substantial footings," Clegg said.

Residents feared that Weldon was trying to expand his beachfront by adding sand and building a seawall, under the design originally proposed.

Ulrich Stams, a Kahala resident for 24 years, feared that a fence would cause erosion of the sandy beach in front of nearby property.

"I'd like to be very clear that I think the proposal is a seawall," Stams said. "I ask the board to recommend to the city that it deny the variance request."

The neighborhood board failed to take any action on Weldon's fence.

In a letter to the city, property owner John Pyles urged the city to turn down the property owner's permit request.

"Building structures that tamper with the beach is a risky business, and one that will potentially impact many others for years to come," Pyles wrote.

"We only have to look a coastlines like Lanikai to see the potential of this kind of thing. They have (made) the public, who have enjoyed this stretch of beautiful beach, up in arms so it would be hard to say they are not impacting the use and enjoyment of the beach by the public."

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.