Bill Text: HI SCR53 | 2016 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: DLNR; 1965 SurfRider-Royal Hawaiian Sector Beach Agreement; Prohibition on Commercial Activity

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-04-05 - Referred to WAL/OMH, FIN, referral sheet 43 [SCR53 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2016-SCR53-Amended.html

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THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	53
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE ON ITS PROGRESS REGARDING THE RESOLUTION OF CONFLICTS UNDER THE PROHIBITION ON COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY UNDER THE 1965 SURFRIDER-ROYAL HAWAIIAN SECTOR BEACH AGREEMENT.

 

 

     WHEREAS, there would be little or no beach east of Fort DeRussy if public funds had not been spent to construct groins and place sand on Waikiki Beach; and

 

     WHEREAS, the old Royal Hawaiian Groin, makai of the western end of the Royal Hawaiian resort, has captured and retains the existing beach makai of the Royal Hawaiian, Outrigger, and Moana Surfrider resorts; and

 

     WHEREAS, the SurfRider-Royal Hawaiian Sector Beach Agreement is a 1965 contract between the State and shoreline property owners that limits the options for replacement of the Royal Hawaiian Groin, establishes private ownership subject to public easement over most of the beach created by the groin, and prohibits commercial activities over most of the beach created by the groin; and

 

     WHEREAS, businesses that operate from Royal Hawaiian, Outrigger, and Moana Surfrider resort properties have been pre-setting and storing commercial beach chairs and umbrellas, at times when this equipment is not rented, on the private beach subject to public easement makai of the three resorts; and

 

     WHEREAS, Act 145, Session Laws of Hawaii 2014, directed the Department of Land and Natural Resources to:

 

     (1)  Convene a working group on the island of Oahu to identify and implement management strategies for the resolution of user conflicts on the public recreational lands; and

 

     (2)  Select one public recreational area with a history of user conflicts to be the focus of the working group; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources chose to address the SurfRider-Royal Hawaiian Sector of Waikiki Beach, specifically addressing the pre-setting of beach chairs and umbrellas on the beach; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources' working group includes hotel managers and vendors from the three hotels in the SurfRider-Royal Hawaiian Sector, the Waikīkī Beach Special Improvement District Association, and staff from the Department of Land and Natural Resources; and

 

     WHEREAS, all parties agree that pre-setting is a commercial activity and, according to the 1965 SurfRider-Royal Hawaiian Sector Beach Agreement, is not permitted within the seventy-foot public easement area; and

 

     WHEREAS, the parties disagree on the definition of "pre-setting", which is not defined in statute, rules, or the 1965 SurfRider-Royal Hawaiian Sector Beach Agreement; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources is working with the hotels and vendors to better manage the beach and ensure public access, including an agreed upon definition of "pre-setting"; and

 

     WHEREAS, this body recognizes that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is working to better regulate the storage of beach chairs, umbrellas, surfboards, and other items on Waikiki Beach; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to submit a report on its progress regarding the resolution of conflicts under the 1965 SurfRider-Royal Hawaiian Sector Beach Agreement, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2017 and Regular Session of 2018; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

Report Title:  

DLNR; 1965 SurfRider-Royal Hawaiian Sector Beach Agreement; Prohibition on Commercial Activity