A Hawaii homeowner has hired bouncers to try to keep the public off a beach near their property.
A landowner with a home on Anini Beach has taken the scandalous step, despite all beaches in the tropical paradise being legally open to the public.
The issue was brought to the attention of Kauai County Council Chairman Mel Rapoza after a Hawaiian elder was escorted from the area by a security guard.
“It is our right as residents and even visitors to this place to be able to use the public access,” Rapoza said.
He added that he personally removed a “road closed” sign posted by the landowners, who have not been identified.
A Hawaii homeowner has hired bouncers to try to keep the public away from a stretch of Anini Beach in front of their property
The $8 million property is listed as a two-bedroom vacation home owner by Anini Beach Hale LLC, SF port reports.
“The landowner had basically taken over the state beach, put up his or her beach amenities, hired security to kick our locals off the beach, and they even had the audacity to put a ‘Road Closed’ sign on a pole that was closed . approaching that road,” Rapoza said.
“Who do they think they are that they can just say, ‘I’m going to put up a ‘Road Closed’ sign just to keep the public out’?”
The council has now adopted a resolution to the says he will conduct a survey of Anini Beach’s coastline to end the debate over where public and private boundaries lie.
“This is an important issue for the entire state,” local Lonnie Sykos said in support of the resolution.
“It’s not just this beach, though. We have ‘secrets’ [Beach]in which the landowner constructed the path [to it]. They are now massive Eureka and other species of trees. This is a problem in other places.’
In its resolution, the council said this is the case: “numerous complaints have been received alleging that various private landowners throughout the island are obstructing public rights of way with gates, foliage, stones and other barriers.”
Kauai County Council Chairman Mel Rapoza expressed anger over the actions and has filed a proposal urging the state to conduct a study of the shoreline.
The matter came to his attention after an elderly voter was led away by a security guard
Local lawmakers warned that those who don’t comply could see the council “determine and declare the need to seize property for public purposes, describing the property and indicating the purposes for which it will be devoted.”
Rapoza said the landowner of Anini Beach has since removed patio furniture blocking the beach.
“There’s no guarantee he won’t do it again,” he warned.