Shoreline Setback Bill heading to Kauai Council.
As global warming becomes more and more of a reality facing each of us in our lives and our communities, here in Kauai as with all of the islands, the notion of sea level rising, which it is, will continue to have an effect on our shorelines and on each counties rules and regulations about such.
The Kauai county council completed hearing from state experts last week and with drafgt legislation heading to the floor Tuesday, Nov. 20, council members are expecting approve a final version of the bill by day's end. The proposed ordinance is designed to protect coastal developments while ensurig greater public beach access. Critical points in the bill are both the minimum setback and the erosion rate multiplier.
Former mayor and now councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura is strongly in favor of a 40-foot minimum setback plus 70 times the annual coastal erosion rate - as recommended in the Hawai`i Coastal Hazard Mitigration Guidebook. Other council persons are lobbying for a lower erosion rate multiplier citing the need for more evidence of the erosion through photographs and historical documentation. The guidebook was written by Dolan Eversole, a U of H geologist and Dennis Hwang, an affiliate faculty member. According to the guidebook, the ocean is slowly swallowing the Hawaiian islands.
Currently Maui has a 25-foot shoreline setback and a 50-year times erosion rate policy in place. If Kauai choose the so-called "70/40" rule, it will create one of the nation's strongest setback laws and "would be a model for others to follow".
To order the 242-page guidebook, CLICK HERE
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