A plan is moving forward to keep Waikiki’s existing beaches from disappearing and create a “new” beach near the shoreline of the Halekulani Hotel, which has been devoid of dry sand for years.
Without intervention Waikiki’s predominantly engineered beaches, which were estimated to bring in $2.2 billion in annual visitor spending prior to the pandemic, could be totally lost before the end of the century, said Dolan Eversole, Waikiki Beach management coordinator for the University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program.
Eversole, who is coordinating a private partnership between the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Waikiki Beach Special Improvement District Association, said proposed beach improvement and maintenance projects are planned for Fort DeRussy, Halekulani, Royal Hawaiian and Kuhio Beach. Projects include construction of new beach stabilization structures and the recovery of offshore sand and its placement on the shoreline.
DLNR said project objectives are to restore and improve Waikiki’s public beaches, increase beach stability through improvement and maintenance of shoreline structures, provide safe access to and along the shoreline, and increase resilience to coastal hazards and sea level rise.
“One of the most exciting developments is that the plan essentially creates a new beach at the Halekulani cell,” Eversole said. “Everybody wants to know how big the beach will be, but that’s still to be determined. The size of the beach will be a function of how big the groins are in the area.”
DLNR filed an environmental impact statement preparation notice on the Waikiki Beach Improvement and Maintenance Program on Dec. 16. An online copy is available in PDF format on the OEQC online submission platform, 808ne.ws/waikikibeach. Paper copies of the EISPN have been submitted to the Waikiki Kapahulu Public Library and the Hawaii Documents Center.
Written comments on DLNR’s proposal, which is still in conceptual stages, are due by Jan. 22 and can be addressed to Andy Bohlander of Sea Engineering at abohlander@seaengineering.com.
Eversole said public comments will be used to fully develop the concepts outlined in the EISPN as well as prioritize them.
“We’re only in the very beginning of a public review process,” he said.
The public will have additional opportunities to comment on the projects, which Eversole said already have been discussed by the Waikiki Beach SIDA’s stakeholder advisory committee, a diverse group of people with a wide breadth of Waikiki interests.
Rick Egged, president of the Waikiki Improvement Society, said, “We’ve been working for years on this project and have had many discussions from community stakeholders. A lot of the recommendations came from our stakeholder advisory committee, and we support the project moving forward.”
Time is of the essence since Waikiki Beach is the epicenter of Oahu’s visitor industry. In 2019 the island welcomed nearly 6.2 million tourists, or about 60% of the state’s 10.4 million visitors. They accounted for more than $8 billion in 2019 visitor spending, or about 46% of the statewide tally of nearly $17.8 billion.
“We’ve all seen in the past that Waikiki Beach is critical to our economy,” said Waikiki Neighborhood Board Chairman Robert Finley. “Without the beach our visitor numbers would drop like a rock. The beaches are also critical to our residents.
“I still remember when there was a beach outside of the Halekulani Hotel and the Waikiki beachboys would frequent it,” he said. “It’s gone now, but the sooner the project moves forward and the sand returns, the better. It’s important for recreation, but it also serves as a barrier to erosion.”
Finley said Eversole is slated to give a presentation on the projects at the Waikiki Neighborhood Board meeting tonight. The meeting, which starts at 6 p.m., will be held at the Waikiki Community Center at 310 Paokalani Ave.
The public also may join the meeting through WebEx, 808ne.ws/joinWNBmeeting. The meeting number is 146 702 7660, and the password is ftBXx8iFS35 (38299843 from phones and video systems).
Attendees also may join by phone at 408-418-9388 or 213-306-3065. The phone access code to join the meeting is 146 702 7660.
Despite the importance of Waikiki beaches to Hawaii’s tourism economy, DLNR’s EISPN estimates that only $6 million was invested in Waikiki beach improvement projects from 2006 to 2020.
State legislators appropriated some $8.85 million in 2019 to support future beach improvement and maintenance projects in Waikiki. But more money is needed.
Eversole said that since 2016 the Waikiki Beach SIDA has put about $2.3 million into shared Waikiki beach projects, including the Royal Hawaiian Groin replacement, which was completed this past summer.
DLNR said the “new sloping, rock rubble mound groin is 180 feet long and between 30 and 40 feet wide and was designed to stabilize the beach fronting the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and eventually restore the shoreline to its pre-2012 position. “
The SIDA also put about $300,000 toward the latest Kuhio sandbag project and funded about $1 million of the Kuhio Beach sand replenishment project that is slated to begin in February and be completed by June, Eversole said.
Egged said the Waikiki Beach SIDA has projected another $3 million to go toward the upcoming projects outlined in the EISPN pending approval by the board.
Egged said the SIDA raises money from assessments levied on commercial operators in the special tax district bounded by Kapahulu Avenue, the Ala Wai Canal and the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor.
While the pandemic could interrupt the flow of funds, Egged said it isn’t likely to slow the planned projects, which are moving relatively slowly anyway.
“The projects will be prioritized and move forward as funding becomes available,” he said. “DLNR plans to seek additional appropriations from the state Legislature.”
GET INVOLVED
Waikiki stabilization project
>> What: Presentation on Waikiki stabilization project
>> When: 7 tonight
>> Where: Waikiki Community Center, 310 Paokalani Ave.
>> Online: The public also may join the meeting through WebEx, 808ne.ws/joinWNBmeeting. The meeting number is 146 702 7660, and the password is ftBXx8iFS35 (38299843 from phones and video systems).
>> Deadline: Written comments on DLNR’s proposal, which is still in conceptual stages, are due by Jan. 22 and can be addressed to Andy Bohlander of Sea Engineering at abohlander@seaengineering.com.
