The really short answer is, "No."
In fact, unless your sea wall was built, legally, before 1999, you can't even repair it. I have heard of one exception where a property had a tree that was planted by Hawaiian Royalty long ago and qualified as a historical site. Even then, the process took years and years to approve from what I'm told. And, to be clear, this is 3rd party information. I never actually saw the sea wall go up so it's hard to verify.
So what can owners do? Well, burrito bags, the black bags filled with sand, are a popular temporary fix. And it is temporary. Placing big rocks in place of a wall is another popular one. But there can be big fines for both of those. One owner on the south shore is facing up to $80,000 in fines.
Circled above, is the home of Rodney Youman. He is facing a fine of $32,000 for allegedly piling rocks along the shoreline, forming a wall that extended onto the public beach.
It begs the question, what good is a temporary fix when a permeant fix isn't possible? The only other solution I've seen people put in place is planting naupaka bushes along the shoreline. While definitely not as strong as a sea well, naupaka offers some measure of help in keeping the sand and dirt in place and is one semi-solution you won't get fined for.
Realistically though, naupaka will only help in the least critical of situations. Unless you have an existing legal seawall, you're out of luck. This may seem harsh but it's the line in the sand that the state has drawn in this issue. I've seen a couple of homes be moved as far back on their lots as possible in a desperate attempt to save the home. However, even that is only buying time and not a true solution.
There have been talks of the state acquiring properties that are in danger of being eaten up by the ocean but that seems unfeasible as the issue is only becoming more and more common with rising sea levels and the state's budget seems to be less and less.
With no clear solution in sight, the issue of protecting ones oceanfront property is one of the hardest we have to deal with at the moment. I'm not trying to say, stay away from beachfront property. There are still plenty of properties that are perfectly safe. In fact, some properties have seen the beach build up even. I'm just saying be careful when looking for beachfront properties.
And for those that already own beachfront property, take this into account. If you're expecting to sell at some point down the road and already experiencing the negative effects of rising sea levels, you should know that without a true fix, your property becomes less and less valuable as the problem persists. Some beachfront properties have become almost taboo, sitting on the market for years at a price that would see them flying off the shelf were the shoreline issues not present.
Just a little food for thought no matter which side of the issue you fall on.
Any questions or just want to chat about your property needs? Reach out today by phone at 808-428-1975 or email at jeremy@stapleshawaii.com.
- Jeremy Moncur, RB/MBA