LIHU‘E — The owner of a cattle-ranching company caused a public outcry more than a year ago after revealing plans to fence off a popular access to Lepe‘uli, also known as Larsen’s Beach, a pristine strip of sand on the
LIHU‘E — The owner of a cattle-ranching company caused a public outcry more than a year ago after revealing plans to fence off a popular access to Lepe‘uli, also known as Larsen’s Beach, a pristine strip of sand on the North Shore.
But after several months of costly legal battles and a change in governor, Paradise Ranch decided this month to surrender the permit it was granted under the previous administration.
“I’m so thankful that my family, neighbors, and others in our community will continue to be able to have access to collect limu, fish, and gather plants in our land,” Linda Akana Sproat said in a letter last week from the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation. The Honolulu law firm represented her in the case.
In a Jan. 10 letter addressed to the board, Paradise Ranch announced that it would still erect a fence to contain the cattle, but only in the state agricultural district.
“While Paradise Ranch and the landowner, Waioli Corporation, sincerely believed that its original proposal of engaging in habitat management of the section of land adjacent to the sandy beach was in the best interest of all concerned, which would have provided a safe environment free of debris and litter, this long and costly battle involving the landowner’s rights to preserve its property while encouraging agriculture can no longer continue,” states the letter by Paradise Ranch’s attorneys. The company was represented by the Lihu‘e law firm of Belles Graham Proudfoot Wilson & Chun.
Laura Thielen, then-chair of the state Board of Land and Natural Resources, granted a permit in February 2010 for Paradise Ranch to fence off property it leases from Waioli Corporation, a nonprofit tasked with managing and preserving some Grove Farm property. Paradise Ranch, owned by Bruce Laymon, sought approval from the BLNR in August 2009 for the landscaping plan involving the controversial fence.
Intended to contain cattle, the fencing would also have cut off a side access to Lepe‘uli. The path has been used for generations to get down to the beach for fishing and recreation. It is also believed by many to be part of the ala loa, a historical trail that supposedly goes around the entire coast of Kaua‘i.
A use permit was needed because the work would have been done inside a conservation district. Thielen unilaterally approved the permit Feb. 16 without a public hearing or a BLNR vote, according to Kaua‘i resident Richard Spacer, an active voice against the permit.
On March 1, Sproat appealed Thielen’s decision and requested a contested case hearing. Surfrider Foundation and Malama Moloa‘a also submitted a petition.
On May 13, the BLNR denied her request and Sproat appealed to the Honolulu circuit court.
Over the next several months, the course was reversed.
When Democrat Neil Abercrombie took office last month, replacing Republican Gov. Linda Lingle, he appointed William Aila Jr. as head of the DLNR, replacing Thielen.
In a letter last week, the state Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands recommended the BLNR grant Sproat’s request for a contested case.
“Staff, together with the Department of Attorney General, believes that Ms. Sproat has raised serious questions as to whether she is entitled as a matter of law to a contested case hearing in order to determine and consider her native Hawaiian rights,” OCCL staff planner Kimberly Tiger Mills says in Jan. 13 letter to the board. “Staff believes that holding a contested case in this matter is appropriate, given the high level of public interest and the difficult legal issues raised in the lawsuit.”
The BLNR was supposed to make a decision on the matter Thursday, said Spacer, who flew to Honolulu to attend the meeting.
“It was simply to agree or to disagree to have this contested case,” Spacer said of the agenda item.
But three days before the meeting, Paradise Ranch decided its own fate by choosing to surrender the permit.
“It cost them over $40,000, they told us that,” said Spacer, referring to legal fees spent by Paradise Ranch. The company could not be reached by press time for comment.
The BLNR on Thursday accepted Paradise Ranch’s letter, and voided the permit, Spacer said. He added that if the ranch decides to reapply for the permit, it will now be harder.
“They will have to apply for a board-level permit,” Spacer said.
The permit that Thielen had approved was based on a recommendation of the OCCL, according to Spacer. A new permit would need approval from the board — comprised of members from each island — and would include a public hearing.
“It’s more complicated. They’ll scrutinize it much more carefully,” Spacer said.
The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation stated in a press release that the BLNR’s void of the permit is “an important victory that will help to preserve the quality of life on Kaua‘i’s North Shore.”
The Sierra Club Kaua‘i Group was the major donor for the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, making it possible for the organization to appeal DLNR’s administrative decision, Rayne Regush, Sierra Club Executive Committee member, said in a statement Monday.
“We partnered with Surfrider Foundation, Kilauea Neighborhood Association, Aunty Loke Would Go, and Malama Moloa‘a to broaden the support to assure pubic beach access, and protect the coastal and cultural resources,” she said. “Threatened and endangered species, tree removal along the beach during the raining season, soil erosion, burials, archeological sites, and proposed cattle pasturage only 110 feet from the beach — these were a few of the red flags in the CD permit application.”
Sierra Club Kaua‘i Group of the Hawai‘i Chapter submitted extensive testimony early-on in the permit process to address these issues and omissions, Regush said.
While the state was sorting the matter out, the Kaua‘i County Council in August approved a new easement, offered by the landowner, that provides a public access to Lepe‘uli.
The county already owned an access trail at the south end of Larsen’s. But beachgoers had been using a different route right next to the county-owned path, which had been neglected for years.
In addition to those trails, there is a lateral access running parallel to the beach with several connecting paths. Community members and visitors have been using this access, but it cuts through Paradise Ranch’s property.
Residents have said the fence would have blocked off this access, which many have deemed the easiest way to get down to the beach.
Laymon has maintained his belief in private property rights and has voiced his concern over the trash left on the beach by illegal campers.
