Mixed testimony in West Maui over Kahana Bay revetment, regional erosion planning

The Senate Committee on Water and Land heard oral and written testimony March 17 on two related West Maui items: SCR 47, a resolution authorizing a nonexclusive easement for a rock revetment and related public access improvements at the Hololani condominium site in Kahana, and SCR 76, a request that state agencies consult with local stakeholders on a regional Kahana Bay erosion mitigation plan.

Hololani and its project engineer described a long permitting history and framed SCR 47 as the final step in a project that replaced emergency sandbags with a lower‑profile rock revetment and public access stairs. Mihoko Ito, representing Hololani, said the project is fully permitted under federal, state and county approvals and is “legally grandfathered in under the passage of Act 16 from 2020,” and that the Board of Land and Natural Resources previously approved an easement in 2018. Jim Berry, the project engineer, said the design team worked with regulators during an environmental assessment and recommended the hybrid solution of a sheet pile wall backed by a short rock…