Coastal Protection
Public Beach Access
Shoreline public access is an important common law right that is shared by local residents and visitors alike. The right of access to Hawaii’s shorelines includes the right of transit along the shoreline and within beach transit corridors.
Hawaii Public Beach Access Laws - HRS-CHAPTER 115
PUBLIC ACCESS TO COASTAL AND INLAND RECREATIONAL AREAS
§115-1 Findings and purpose. The legislature finds that miles of shorelines, waters, and inland recreational areas under the jurisdiction of the State are inaccessible to the public due to the absence of public rights-of-way; that the absence of public rights-of-way is a contributing factor to mounting acts of hostility against private shoreline properties and properties bordering inland recreational areas; that the population of the islands is increasing while the presently accessible beach, shoreline, and inland recreational areas remain fixed; and that the absence of public access to Hawaii's shorelines and inland recreational areas constitutes an infringement upon the fundamental right of free movement in public space and access to and use of coastal and inland recreational areas. The purpose of this chapter is to guarantee the right of public access to the sea, shorelines, and inland recreational areas, and transit along the shorelines, and to provide for the acquisition of land for the purchase and maintenance of public rights-of-way and public transit corridors. [L 1974, c 244, §1; am L 1977, c 164, §3]
§115-2 Acquisition of lands for public rights-of-way and public transit corridors. When the provisions of section 46-6.5 are not applicable, the various counties shall purchase land for public rights-of-way to the shorelines, the sea, and inland recreational areas, and for public transit corridors where topography is such that safe transit does not exist. [L 1974, c 244, §2; am L 1977, c 164, §4]
[§115-3] Criteria for public rights-of-way. A distance at reasonable intervals taking into consideration the topography and physical characteristics of the land the public is desirous of reaching is established as the maximum between public rights-of-way for the purposes of this chapter. [L 1974, c 244, §3]
[§115-3.5] Restricting passage over rights-of-way. A county may restrict passage over a public right-of-way by resolution or ordinance, provided that the resolution or ordinance sets forth criteria for determining that the restriction is in the public interest. [L 1993, c 113, §1]
§115-4 Right of transit along shorelines. The right of access to Hawaii's shorelines includes the right of transit along the shorelines. [L 1974, c 244, §4; am L 1991, c 37, §2]
§115-5 Beach transit corridor defined. (a) The right of transit shall exist seaward of the shoreline and this area shall be defined as a beach transit corridor. For purposes of this section, "shoreline" shall have the same meaning as in section 205A-1.
However, in areas of cliffs or areas where the nature of the topography is such that there is no reasonably safe transit for the public along the shoreline below the private property lines, the counties by condemnation may establish along the makai boundaries of the property lines public transit corridors which shall be not less than six feet wide.
(b) Along beach transit corridors where the abutting landowner's human-induced, enhanced, or unmaintained vegetation interferes or encroaches with beach transit corridors, the department of land and natural resources may require the abutting landowner to remove the landowner's interfering or encroaching vegetation. [L 1974, c 244, §5; am L 2010, c 160, §3]
[§115-6] Procedure. The provisions of this chapter shall be executed under provisions of chapter 101. [L 1974, c 244, §6]
[§115-7] State and county co-sponsorship of programs. The department of land and natural resources shall enter into agreements with the council of any county providing for the acquisition of public rights-of-way and public transit corridors pursuant to this chapter; provided that the county shall match the funds which have been appropriated by the legislature. The development and maintenance of the rights-of-way and public transit corridors shall be the responsibility of the county. [L 1974, c 244, §7]
[§115-8] Expending agency. The department of land and natural resources shall expend all sums appropriated for the purposes of this chapter and in accordance with section 115-7. [L 1974, c 244, §8]
§115-9 Obstructing access to public property; penalty. (a) A person commits the offense of obstructing access to public property if the person, by action or by having installed a physical impediment, intentionally prevents a member of the public from traversing:
(1) A public right-of-way;
(2) A transit area;
(3) A public transit corridor; or
(4) A beach transit corridor; and thereby obstructs access to and along the sea, the shoreline, or any inland public recreational area.
(b) Physical impediments that may prevent traversing include but are not limited to the following:
(1) Gates;
(2) Fences;
(3) Walls;
(4) Constructed barriers;
(5) Rubbish;
(6) Security guards;
(7) Guard dogs or animals; and
(8) A landowner's human-induced, enhanced, or unmaintained vegetation that interferes or encroaches within beach transit corridors.
(c) Obstructing access to public property is a misdemeanor.
(d) Minimum fines for violation under this section shall be as follows:
(1) $1,000 for a second conviction; and
(2) $2,000 for any conviction after a second conviction.
(e) As used in this section:
"Landowner" means the record owner of the property or the record owner's agent, including a lessee, tenant, property manager, or trustee.
"Person" means a natural person or a legal entity.
"Public recreational area" means public lands or bodies of water opened to the public for recreational use. [L 2004, c 169, §2; am L 2010, c 160, §4]
Note: The source note to this section is supplemented by "am L 2010, c 160, §7; am L 2013, c 120, §4".
[§115-10 Duty to maintain access within beach transit corridors; remedies.] (a) The department of land and natural resources shall maintain access within beach transit corridors under this chapter and chapter 183C, by requiring private property owners to ensure that beach transit corridors abutting their lands shall be kept passable and free from the landowner's human-induced, enhanced, or unmaintained vegetation that interferes or encroaches in the beach transit corridors.
(b) In addition to the criminal penalties in section 115-9, the department is authorized to issue notice to landowners who fail to maintain access within beach transit corridors, as set out in subsection (a), abutting their property. If any landowner fails to remove the landowner's human-induced, enhanced, or unmaintained vegetation within twenty-one days of notice being issued, the department shall take any action authorized under section 183C-7 as necessary to maintain access within beach transit corridors; provided that if the landowner contests the basis upon which the notice was issued prior to the expiration of the notice period, the department's enforcement actions under section 183C-7 shall be tolled until the final resolution of the contested matter.
(c) As used in this section, "landowner" means the record owner of the property or the record owner's agent, including a lessee, tenant, property manager, or trustee. [L 2010, c 160, §2]
Note: The source note to this section is supplemented by "am L 2010, c 160, §7; am L 2013, c 120, §4".
HRS Laws can be found online at: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol02_Ch0046-0115/HRS0115/HRS_0115-.htm
Beach Protection is Habitat Protection
Hawai'i is known for its amazing biodiversity. Kaua'i is home to an abundance of endangered species, and with our changing beaches many marine animals are finding themselves facing limited habitat availability. Shoreline habitats are at further risk due to a number of factors, including erosion, coastal development, shoreline hardening structures, and increasing climate changes. In light of these pressures and changing environment, Mālama Kua'āina works to protect, preserve, and restore critical coastal habitat for endangered species, such as Native Hawaiian Monk Seals.
Vegetation Encroachments
Coastal landowners are required to maintain the vegetation along the seaward boundary of their property to ensure that it does not inhibit the ability of the public to access the shoreline. In the past, some coastal landowners have made efforts to induce or cultivate vegetation along the shoreline to create a privacy buffer and, in some cases, attempt to alter the location of the natural shoreline. Unfortunately, these encroachments provide little protection against the high wave winter season. During high wave events these plants tend to create hazards in the water and can cause extensive damage to the reef both through the impact of the debris washing up against the coral as well as the impacts of nutrient runoff, and sediment. It is important to note that under Hawaiʻi law, a person commits the offense of obstructing access to public property if the person, by action or by having installed a physical impediment, intentionally prevents a member of the public from traversing a beach transit corridor. Obstructing access to public property is a misdemeanor. HRS Chapter 115. While at times unintentional, the impacts of vegetation encroachment are a hazard to beach goers and property owners alike. Further destruction to reef habitats only minimizes their ability to buffer incoming waves.
Hawaii’s Office of Coastal and Conservation Lands (OCCL) is the lead agency with authority for maintaining public access along Hawaii’s shorelines. Along beach transit corridors where the abutting landowner’s human-induced, enhanced, or unmaintained vegetation interferes or encroaches with beach transit corridors, the Department of Land and Natural Resources may require the abutting landowner to remove the landowner’s interfering or encroaching vegetation (HRS §115-5 (b). For cases in which shoreline vegetation may inhibit shoreline public access, the Department will issue a Notice of Violation (NOV) to the abutting landowner instructing them to remove the encroaching vegetation. Property owners who do not comply with the NOV are subject to fines of $1000 for a second conviction and $2000 for any subsequent convictions.
https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol02_Ch0046-0115/HRS0115/HRS_0115-0010.htm
HĀ'ENA COMMUNITY-BASED SUBSISTENCE FISHING AREA
Hui Makaʻāinana o Makana (Hui) is a community-based organization formed in 1998 by lineal descendants of Hā'ena. Their mission is dedicated to perpetuating and teaching the skills, knowledge, and practices of our kūpuna (ancestors) through the interpretation, restoration, care, and protection of the natural and cultural resources that are located within Hā'ena State Park.
The Hā'ena Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area (CBSFA) includes the waters and submerged lands from the shoreline to a distance of one mile off the northwestern coast of Kaua'i, bounded by a straight line extending seaward at the boundary between Hā'ena State Park and Nā Pali State Park, and a straight line extending seaward at the boundary between Hā'ena and Wainiha, as depicted above.
