Surf organization says it opposes proposed beach groin redesigns

A leading surfer group is opposed to any major changes to the Royal Hawaiian groin.

Plans to restore or expand the groin and shore up the sand along world-famous Waikiki beach were discussed during a public meeting Tuesday at the Waikiki Community Center.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is seeking feedback on four proposals to fix the failing groin.

Among the options discussed were building a new 180-foot-long rock L- or T-head groin, constructing a new 280-foot-long rock L- or T-head groin, adapting the existing groin and using it as the core of a new 160-foot-long rock L-head groin, or adding a new 160-foot-long vertical concrete wall groin.

Keone Downing, representing Save Our Surf, questioned why the design of the existing groin, which has held for 88 years, could not be replicated. Downing attended the meeting to express his displeasure at the proposed designs.

“I think we should study what’s good about the current groin,” said Downing, whose father, George, was inducted into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame in 2011 and is known as one of Hawaii’s big-wave surfing pioneers.

“Save Our Surf opposes any type of T-head groins in Waikiki. Surfers and public say no to any shoreline armoring which will damage surf, expose people to dangerous rock groins and create visual pollution,” said George Downing in a written statement.

George Downing, who was a Waikiki beachboy for decades and founded the surfboard company Downing Hawaii, said his organization prefers restoration of the existing groin.

“If that is not obtainable, then a modification to option four, the wall groin, may be the direction to go since it has a much smaller footprint,” Keone Downing said. “Save our Surf does not favor any design that uses large boulders.”

The $1 million to $1.5 million project will be the first collaboration between DLNR and the newly formed Waikiki Beach Special Improvement District Association, which has agreed to pay for half of the cost of the project up to $750,000.

“Mother Nature didn’t build it, and Mother Nature isn’t being cooperative to maintain it,” said Scott Sullivan of Sea Engineering Inc., the lead design firm on the Royal Hawaiian groin project and the state’s 2012 Waikiki beach renourishment project.

Sullivan said failure of the Royal Hawaiian groin, which was built in 1927 and is located between the Waikiki Sheraton and the Royal Hawaiian hotels, could result in the destabilization of over 1,700 feet of sandy shoreline to the east of the structure. Prompt repairs are need to keep Hawaii’s most visited beach from being swept away, he said.

“This is really the start of the project. We have a draft environmental assessment for review, and out of that process will come a preferred project and then we can begin the lengthy and arduous permitting process,” said Sullivan, who spoke at the Waikiki Community Center meeting. “We want a structure that will maintain the 2012 beach renourishment.”

Sullivan said any of the four options would be an improvement.

“These options do different things in a different way, but all are viable,” Sullivan said. “We’ve had a number of stakeholder meetings, including the city and county lifeguards. This (the Tuesday meeting) is our first public meeting, but it’s not the last time that you will see me or have the opportunity to ask questions.”

Feedback at the meeting was somewhat reserved. However, a few audience members sought more detailed explanations about how the proposals would affect the beach and wave patterns. Others wanted assurances that the structure would not detract from Waikiki’s beauty.

The options before DLNR are detailed in a draft environmental assessment, which is available for public review. Sam Lemmo, administrator of DLNR’s Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands, said the department will take public comments until March 7. All officially submitted comments and DLNR’s responses to them will become part of the official record.

Expected environmental impacts of the four options are relatively similar, according to Lemmo. DLNR will winnow feedback into a recommendation for the Board of Land and Natural Resources, which will have the ultimate vote on the project.

The expected time frame for construction is dependent on regulatory approvals, but Lemmo said it could be sometime in late 2017. Construction, which will inconvenience the economic engine of Waikiki, is estimated to take anywhere from 60 to 90 days.