Letters: Hale Mahina asks support for proposed beach access
Hale Mahina AOAO Board of Directors asks public support for its proposed resolution with Maui County to provide free public access to the beach at Hale Mahina in exchange for resolving the Notice of Violation.
Public beach access has not been provided for over 50 years.
In 2021, we opened a public pathway to the ocean on the north side of the property as a first-step solution. However, the pathway lacks a stairway that could provide safe beach access because of the steep elevation to the ocean.
In 2023, the AOAO hired an engineering firm to design a stairway from the pathway to the ocean that would cut through the seawall. While this would be an expensive effort and potentially compromise the existing seawall, it was determined that any stairway would not provide safe access to the ocean because of the heavy wave action and large, slippery rocks in front of the seawall.
In response, the AOAO then proposed providing public access via the south side of the property to an existing stairway that was installed on the property by Maui County when the adjacent canal was built.
This idea presented a new set of challenges not the least of which was the fact that the permit condition stipulated access on the north side of the property. Any proposed changes to the permit condition must be approved by the county. Moreover, since neither the AOAO nor the apartment owners own the land, we needed landowner consent to proceed.
The county and the landowners have reached an agreement that is satisfactory to everyone.
To make this agreement take effect, Maui County Planning Commission needs to formally approve it.
Hale Mahina AOAO President Joe Wlad Kahana
