STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3322

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 64

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water and Land, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 64 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE BOARD OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO SUPPORT AND AUTHORIZE THE NAPILI BEACH PUBLIC ACCESS STAIR PROJECT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Board of Land and Natural Resources to support and authorize the Napili Beach Public Access Stair Project.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources and Napili Bay and Beach Foundation, Inc.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii's beaches are a world-renowned natural resource that are facing significant challenges with the onset of climate change, sea level rise, and coastal erosion. Napili Beach, located in Kaanapali, Maui, has served both residents and tourists as a scenic point on Maui's west coast. The old Napili Beach public access concrete stairs, originally constructed in the 1980s, from headland to the south end of Napili Beach, were seriously damaged by heavy south swells on Labor Day, 2017, before being destroyed completely in July 2019. To mitigate some impacts from further coastal erosion and heavy south swells, the Napili Beach Public Access Stair Project was proposed to be relocated to a location further way from south swell impact. In 2019, the Napili Bay and Beach Foundation Inc. applied for and received a state grant-in-aid to replace the older stairs with more resilient, trex decking stairs, which are open tread to allow seasonal ebb and flow of beach sand.

Your Committee further finds that since the inception of the Napili Beach Public Access Stair Project, the Department of Land and Natural Resources has issued a site plan approval for the replacement of the failed concrete stairs with the new access stairs. At the Board of Land and Natural Resources meeting on October 22, 2021, under agenda item D-5, the Board approved a twenty-five-year term, non-exclusive easement for elevated beach access stairs and dune walkover on state submerged lands identified by tax map keys: (2) 4-3-002:023 and (2) 4-3-002:099. To ensure continued access to Napili Beach for Hawaii's people, your Committee concludes that the easement is necessary for use, repair, and maintenance of the Napili Beach public access stairs.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting updated findings regarding the Department of Land and Natural Resources' administrative procedures on the term, non-exclusive easement covering a portion of state submerged lands at Napili, Kaanapali, Maui;

(2) Amending its title in accordance with its amended purpose; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water and Land that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 64, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means, in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 64, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water and Land,

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LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair