HI HCR89

Authorizes the Board of Land and Natural Resources to issue a 25-year, non-exclusive easement to the Association of Apartment Owners of Wailea Elua for a beach access stairway on state submerged lands at Wailea, Maui (Tax Map Key (2) 2-1-008).

The stairway (120 square feet total, with 22 square feet encroaching into the shoreline) connects the Wailea Coastal Walk to Ulua Beach and was originally built in the 1970s; a 2009 county building permit was issued based on an outdated 1983 shoreline survey.

The Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands determined in July 2019 that the stairway has no negative environmental impacts, removal would not improve beach access or natural coastal processes, and the easement involves negligible change beyond existing uses.

The Board of Land and Natural Resources voted on January 22, 2021, to recommend issuance of the easement after determining it is exempt from environmental assessment requirements under Hawaii Administrative Rules section 11-200.1-15.

Legislative authorization is required under Hawaii Revised Statutes section 171-53, which mandates prior legislative approval to lease state submerged lands.