Governor Josh Green, M.D.

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES 

 

JOSH GREEN, M.D. 
GOVERNOR 

 

DAWN CHANG 
CHAIRPERSON 

 

NEWS RELEASE 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Jan. 12, 2024

 

PAIR OF NORTH SHORE PROPERTY OWNERS FINED NEARLY ONE MILLION DOLLARS EACH FOR SHORELINE VIOLATIONS

 

(HONOLULU) – The owners of two homes on Ke Nui Road were each ordered to pay nearly $1 million by the Board of Land and Natural Resources today, for repeated violations of State Conservation District rules. The homes front Paumalū Beach, on O‘ahu’s north shore.

 

The board offered to offset the fines if the homeowners agreed to remove residences from their shoreline properties, and erosion control structures from state land. Costs incurred in the removal process would go against the fines.

 

The DLNR Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands (OCCL) laid out the series of violations to the BLNR and in its submittal to the board.

 

59-151 A Ke Nui Road

 

Owners Sunset Oasis LLC and members William and Melinda Kernot were fined a total of $948,000 for unauthorized work on public lands within the State Land Use Conservation District.

 

OCCL reports “the Kernots continue to perform unauthorized work after being given notification by the Department to stop work on at least three separate occasions.”  OCCL staff added that the Kernots have failed to remove debris and past erosion control structures.

 

• Fined $15,000 for installing a sand-filled burrito system.
• Fined $15,000 for failing to abide by terms to remove temporary erosion control measures.
• Fined $45,000 for three days of willful violation after receiving notice to stop all work.
• Fined $873,000 – $1,000 per day for failure to remove encroachments upon public lands, accrual of such starting when they received notice on July 18, 2021.

59-149 Ke Nui Road

 

Zhungo LLC and managing member Rodney Youman were fined a total of $993,000. OCCL staff concluded that Youman “did in fact authorize, cause, or allow construction of an unauthorized seawall, the unauthorized placement of rocks in the form of a revetment, and the installation of additional unauthorized burritos and sandbags on public land within the State Land Use Conservation District.

OCCL reports that Youman continued to perform unauthorized work on at least four separate occasions between September 2020 and September 2022.

• Fined $15,000 for constructing a seawall/erosion control structure within the conservation district.
• Fined $15,000 for placement/construction of an unauthorized rock revetment.
• Fined $15,000 for failing to remove the temporary erosion control measure at the end of the authorization period.
• Fined $75,000 for a total of four days after receiving notification from the Department to stop all work.

• Fined $873,000 – $1,000 per day for failure to remove encroachments upon public lands, accrual of such starting when they received notice on July 18, 2021.

In both cases, the BLNR submittal from OCCL stated, “During the last several years beach erosion in this area appears to have intensified significantly. Although such erosion could be attributed to normal accretion and erosion cycles, it is more likely that the erosion has become a chronic and permanent result of acceleration in sea level rise this century.”

The OCCL submittal added, “Coastal armoring, such as seawalls and revetments, protect private land mauka of the armoring device while harming the public trust resources makai of the wall. Coastal armoring or shoreline hardening devices damage beaches by cutting the sand bank and impounding sand behind walls; refracting waves and creating a high-energy environment that impedes sand accumulation; creating flanking that can increase adjacent erosion and damage neighboring properties; and impacting lateral transport thereby damaging downdrift beaches.”

Between 2017 and 2020, DLNR authorized approximately 35 temporary control structures fronting approximately 50 properties in the Ko‘olualoa and Waialua Districts on O‘ahu. Few permit holders complied with permit conditions. OCCL staff admits that the situation is challenging for homeowners, but DLNR is also confronted by the lack of compliance and continued violations.

Over the past year, three other Ke Nui Road property owners have been fined by BLNR for unauthorized shoreline erosion control/hardening work. Two have requested Contested Cases, and a third did not prevail in a Contested Case hearing and has been directed to submit a plan for removal of structures fronting his home.

Both the Kernots and Youman have requested Contested Case hearings.

# # #

 

RESOURCES 

(All images/video courtesy: DLNR) 

 

HD video – Paumalū beach area aerials (Sept. 21, 2022):

https://vimeo.com/902355376?share=copy

(Youman and Kernot properties: 3:19-3:40, 3:44-3:57, 3:59-4:44, 5:20-5:48, 6:26, 6:48-7:13)

Photographs – Youman and Kernot properties:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/u1qqjmvky1dvq1wbzqf0f/h?rlkey=36lsunq42wrmqf6up6601olcg&dl=0

(Youman-turquoise house on the left, Kernot-darker blue house on the right)

 

 

Media Contact: 

Dan Dennison 

Communications Director 

808–587-0396 

[email protected]