Kahala fence stays, for now
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
KAHALA — The city has found that a shoreline fence erected by a Kahala property owner impedes public access.
However, the case isn't settled yet.
The city says the authorization for the fence on the ocean-side of the property has been revoked because the owners added 93 tons of sand and rocks without proper approval.
However, the decision is not final, because owners Kathryn and Ned Weldon had already applied for an after-the-fact variance to rebuild the fence, which was damaged during a rainstorm last February. The Weldons want to put the new fence within the shoreline setback area, which is 40-feet mauka from the certified shoreline, or vegetation line.
The Weldons' home, in the 4700 block of Kahala Avenue, is next to a drainage canal. Storm water undermined the footings of the original fence, forcing portions of it to collapse. The owners then placed the sand and rocks to support the fence.
Some residents want any rebuilt fence to be farther from the shoreline. They say that the fence, where it is now, impedes pedestrians, causes erosion, detracts from the view and limits open space.
One opponent is Lucinda Pyles, who also lives along Kahala beach. She and other residents made a presentation to Eric Crispin, the outgoing director of the city Department of Planning and Permitting, who issued the letter of revocation on Dec. 30.
"We agreed to give the owners time to revise their plans to put the fence back, more land-ward onto their property and to get their permits," Pyles said. "We're willing to let them have that time to be good neighbors.
"It's not personal, it's about preserving the beach for the residents."
But the Weldons say they haven't seen any letter.
"We have no idea what's going on," said Kathryn Weldon. "We're ordinary people. We're not trying to do bad things."
The Weldons need a variance to keep the fence at its present location — within the shoreline setback area — and after-the-fact approval for the 93 tons of sand that was placed within the shoreline setback area to level off the property.
While that request is being processed, and the owners are responding to residents' concerns, the fence can remain as it is, the city's letter says.
It is not known when a final decision will be made.
Don Clegg, a consultant working with the Weldons, said a replacement fence would be made of posts buried deep into the ground with tension wire through each post.
The state Department of Conservation and Coastal Lands has said that the city should require the Weldons to remove the rocks and move the proposed fence outside the 40-foot shoreline setback. The state has said it believes that the proposed fence does not serve to protect the residence from erosion because the house is more than 55 feet from the shoreline.
While the shoreline falls in the state's jurisdiction, it hands over enforcement to the city, which controls construction along the shoreline.
Reach Suzanne Roig at 395-8831 or sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.
