County ‘drawing a line’ in sand with park rules

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Fact Box

PARKS AT A GLANCE

The county Parks and Recreation Department has proposed prohibiting commercial ocean recreational activities, such as surfing schools or kayak rentals, at the following beach parks:

* Baldwin Beach Park

* Cove Park

* Hookipa Beach Park

* Kamaole beach parks I, II and III as well as the Charley Young Beach right of way

* The south end of Kalama Park between the Cove Park beach and the Kalama Park parking lot

* Launiupoko Beach Park

* Puamana Beach Park

COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES: HOURS OF OPERATION

The county Department of Parks and Recreation proposes setting hours when commercial activities will be allowed at the following beach parks.

HANA DISTRICT

Hana Bay Beach Park: Six commercial operators allowed for (b,c,f*); 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. No commercial activity on holidays.

CENTRAL MAUI DISTRICT

Kanaha Beach Park: Thirteen operators allowed for (d,e); 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and holidays; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.

SOUTH MAUI DISTRICT

Kalama Beach Park: Ten operators allowed for (a,b); 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays and holidays; 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

Keawakapu Beach Park, access one: two operators for (f): 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays; 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays and holidays.

Keawakapu Beach Park, access two: four operators for (c): 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays; 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays and holidays.

Both Makena Landing and Maluaka Beach parks are no longer open to commercial operators.

Mai Poina Oe Iau Beach Park: Four operators for (d,e); 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and holidays.

Palauea Beach Park: Five operators for (c,f); 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and holidays.

Polo Beach Park: Five operators for (c, b); 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays and holidays; 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

Poolenalena Beach Park: Two operators for (c); 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays and holidays.

Ulua/Mokapu Beach Park: Six operators for (c,f); 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and holidays; 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays and Sundays.

Wailea Beach Park: Six operators for (c,f); 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and holidays; 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays and Sundays.

Waipuilani Beach Park: Three operators for (a,d,e) 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and holidays.

WEST MAUI DISTRICT

D.T. Fleming Beach Park: Two operators for (b); 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and holidays.

Hanakaoo Beach Park: Six operators for (b,c,f) 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays; 7 a.m. to noon. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.

Honokowai Beach Park is no longer listed as available to commercial operators.

Kamehameha Iki Beach Park: Two operators for (a); 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays and holidays; 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

Papalaua Beach Park: Seven operators for (b,c); 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays and holidays; 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

Ukumehame Beach Park: Six operators for (a,b); 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays; 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays and holidays.

Wahikuli Wayside Beach Park: Six operators for (c,f); 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays and holidays; 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

*Key for types of permits: a-surfing, b-kayaking, c-scuba, d-windsurfing, e-kiteboarding and f-snorkeling. Unless otherwise noted, commercial activities are not allowed in the parks on Sundays.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

For information on the new proposed administrative rules for commercial ocean activities in Maui parks, go to co.maui.hi.us/documents/Parks%20and%20Recreation/CORA/CORA%20-%20 Rules%20(Distribution).PDF.

What: The Maui County Parks and Recreation Department staff will conduct a public hearing on the proposed administrative rules.

When: 9 a.m. Friday

Where: Planning Department conference room in the County Building annex, Kalana Pakui, in Wailuku.

The county is accepting written comments until the day of the public hearing. Comments may be mailed to the parks department: Attention: Special Events, 700 Halia Nakoa, Unit 2, Wailuku 96793. For more information, call 270-8070.

KIHEI - The people who provide lessons and outings to tourists and residents for water sports - specifically, surfing, kiteboarding, windsurfing, kayaking, scuba and snorkeling - are frightened that a proposed set of new Maui County rules will cripple or even doom their businesses.

Parks and Recreation Department Director Tamara Horcajo has been leading a process that began more than six years ago intended to strike a better balance between regular beach users and the companies that use county parks to gain their livelihood.

For years, residents have complained that the commercial outfits crowd them out at times either with busloads of tourists or equipment trucks taking up valuable parking spots and flooding favorite dive and surf spots.

On Friday, Horcajo will present for public debate the long-delayed and equally complicated "Rules of Practice and Procedure for Commercial Ocean Recreational Activity Permits."

These rules, which Mayor Charmaine Tavares is expected to implement soon after the public hearing, would be the first time the county would place caps on the number of operators and students allowed in the parks, limit what kinds of activities operate at each park, restrict parking in some areas and require emergency medical training for all instructors.

The new rules also reduce the number of beaches available to ocean activities operators and their clients by nearly 35 percent - from 26 beaches to 17 - as well as lessen or eliminate the number of hours available to them on Sundays and holidays, which are often when they do some of their best business.

However, Horcajo noted that the county has previously proposed no commercial activities at all during Sundays and holidays but loosened up on that stance.

But with tourism businesses down by as much as 50 percent, several commercial operators interviewed recently wondered, "Why now?"

The dour economic situation isn't really a factor because the environment never rests, Horcajo said.

"We really believe we need to make long-term changes," she said. "This is about preserving our natural resources, which is actually what our economy is all about. This is for future generations . . . I'm drawing a line in the sand."

Horcajo said she felt it was the county's job to advocate for local families. She also noted that the state Department of Land and Natural Resources has endorsed the new rules.

However, operators said the rules would actually compound the problems by giving them fewer beach options and thus creating more crowding.

"It's been a long haul for us," Horcajo said. "We know it's not perfect. But we know it's something that people wanted."

It's easy to see, even in a down economy, that overcrowding still exists on weekends, or whenever the surf is good.

Council Member Jo Anne Johnson said that although the Maui County Council has no authority over the implementation of administrative rules, she'd like to bring the issue before her Economic Development, Agriculture and Recreation Committee for more public discussion. Although she hears complaints from residents who feel cramped by the commercial companies, Johnson said she's also concerned about what further impact the rules will have on a vital part of Maui's tourism industry.

"I think we should at least be willing to give them (the rules) a chance and see if they're working, then re-evaluate them," Johnson said.

David Dorn, owner of Action Sports Maui, said the reduction of hours and days will force him to furlough employees.

"We used to have just full-time guys, only now a lot of them have part-time jobs, like washing dishes, just to make ends meet," he said.

Operators said they fill in important gaps that the county doesn't have the money to address, such as providing people with ocean safety, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid training at parks without lifeguards. The new rules will formally require all operators and their instructors to have regularly updated health and safety training as well as a county-sponsored "environmental protection and cultural awareness program" certification, emergency radios and uniforms.

Alan Cadiz has owned HST Windsurfing and Kitesurfing School for 25 years. His staff of about a dozen instructors are almost all seasonal. He said he has worked very hard with the county from the beginning to help negotiate the rules, but he's lost a lot of sleep worrying about his business' future if the rules were to go into effect as is.

"It's difficult for a working person in Maui to do all that's required before they even start work," Cadiz said. "And if one employee is not up to date, or if we make an honest mistake, we could lose our permit."

Wailuku attorney Jim Fosbinder said he is preparing another lawsuit against the rules in federal court on behalf of some of the surf, kiteboarding and windsurfing schools based on First Amendment rights. He said surfing is considered by many to be a religious act, and all of the activities are protected since there is a significant educational component.

Despite all their meetings with the county, some of the operators said they were frustrated with the process - just too many rules - and that many of their recommendations had been ignored. They also questioned how vigilant the county would be in policing clandestine operators who undercut the legitimate businesses.

A 2003 ordinance got the process going, and the county has based many of its decisions so far on recommendations in an environmental assessment of the operators' impact on the environment and parks. However, even some existing laws remain contentious, such as one that states that permits are nontransferable.

"Without the right to transfer a county permit, my company, Maui Sun Divers, that I have spent decades building becomes worthless," scuba operator Bobby Baker said in an e-mail to the state Small Business Regulatory Review Board.

The Small Business Regulatory Review Board examined the rules last week and put together some recommendations, a process that's required by law. Board Chairwoman Lynne Woods said on Friday that the changes will have a big impact on the small businesses, but given the demands of the community to have beach access, board members understood the need for balance.

Woods said their recommendations included eliminating a burdensome provision that calls on operators to maintain a list of their customers' names and for the county to actually create its class on respecting the environment and culture before demanding that employees take it. Among their other concerns, board members believe that permit holders should be able to leave their permit to a family member when they die and to clearly define the consequence for each rule violation, Woods said.

When it comes to cracking down, Horcajo has broad authority. She can suspend or terminate a permit any time a rule or law is broken and will maintain that power under the proposed rules as well as the ability to fine up to $500 and pursue criminal charges that could lead to jail time for violators.

Operators also said they are concerned about the county raising fees to help address projected budget crunches. The rules now say permits must be renewed annually for $500, with a $100 application fee.

Under the rules, it will remain one permit per site per activity, and the County Council's Budget and Finance Committee - which devises the annual county budget - will be responsible for setting fees.

Scuba instructor Doug Corbin of Shaka Divers in Kihei has been in business for 11 years and is a solo operator with permits at four beach parks but works primarily at Ulua Beach Park in South Maui. Under Horcajo's plan, he will be able to keep those spots as long as he wants them.

Horcajo said the county is renewing all existing permits.

However, the Department of Parks and Recreation eventually will slowly whittle down the permits from 139 now to a total of about 90 through attrition, she said. The process is likely to take years.

One rare compromise between the county and operators has been the maximum allowable instructor-student ratios for each group of students. The department used industry standards to set student-to-teacher ratios; and it will be the first time in the state that such regulations will be put into place, Horcajo said.

Another new wrinkle is that the county will designate parking locations for the commercial operators within the parks, so they're not competing with residents, Horcajo said.

Cadiz doesn't see the balance Horcajo keeps talking about.

"The way I really feel is this is a classic example of government overstepping its bounds of authority," he said. "I almost feel like no matter what I do at this point, it's a done deal. They kind of wore us down."

* Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com.