A local resort is scrambling to get an after-the-fact permit after it was cited by the county Planning Department for unauthorized construction and landscaping work.
The Sheraton Kona Resort &Spa at Keauhou Bay, as well as state and county agencies, have also incurred the wrath of canoe clubs, neighbors, boat owners, commercial recreation operators and cultural groups for what they see as preferential treatment for the company, not only for construction within the coastal special management area, but also commercial recreation operations from the hotel site.
The Planning Department, in an Aug. 25 notice of violation, fined the resort $10,000 plus $100 a day starting Oct. 1 if corrective action wasn’t taken by Sept. 30. The department subsequently extended the deadline to Nov. 30 before fines would be levied.
Planners said a June 6 inspection showed workers mixing powdered cement in wheelbarrows and attempting to patch a sidewalk along the shoreline. In doing so, they allowed powdered cement to wash into the ocean by wave action overtaking the sidewalk, according to the violation notice.
A subsequent inspection showed the resort did not immediately cease its work as ordered by the county, but completed the sidewalk repairs. In addition, a nonconforming building within the shoreline setback area was remodeled with vinyl windows, repaired and repainted, the county said. A ladder was also erected into the ocean, Planning Director Duane Kanuha told West Hawaii Today on Monday.
“There’s no doubt there’s going to be some kind of fine levied,” Kanuha said.
The county is requiring the resort to conduct a shoreline survey and have it certified by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources as part of a special management area assessment application for work that was done without the necessary special management area permits.
Depending on the survey, the resort may have to acquire additional permits and approvals, such as a shoreline setback variance from the Planning Commission.
The Sheraton has hired Hilo planning consultant Sidney Fuke to help it get into compliance.
“We are working in collaboration with all pertinent parties to ensure Sheraton Kona is in full compliance with state and county rules and regulations,” Matthew Grauso, general manager at Sheraton Kona Resort &Spa at Keauhou Bay, said in a statement. “We value and respect the stewardship of our land in Keauhou, and will continue to do everything we can to be a great neighbor in our community.”
That hasn’t been enough to satisfy a group calling itself the “Keauhou Bay Stakeholders Group.” Composed of the Keauhou Canoe Club and Kona Community Cultural and Educational Foundation Inc., as well as commercial fishing operators, recreation concession operators and landowners, the group wants quicker action on the permit issues, as well as enforcement of commercial activities on the site.
“Questions about excessive timelines, favoritism, lack of consequences, influence of wealth and liability will be raised if immediate, substantive, corrective action is not undertaken,” the group said in a Nov. 2 letter to Kanuha and state DLNR chairman William Aila.
“The violations of this Kona Surf Partners project at the Sheraton Kona overlap and co-mingle between responsibilities of the County Planning Department and the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands, and Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation,” the letter added. “Interdepartmental communication and coordination will be imperative between all departments in order to resolve the issues.”
A DLNR spokeswoman said it appeared the issues are under the county’s jurisdiction, but Kanuha said until the survey is done, it’s unclear.
As far as commercial activities, they are allowed under the current zoning, said Fuke.
“Commercial activities consistent with that zoning would be allowed,” Fuke said.
The allegations in the letter are part of ongoing controversies between the resort and its neighbors.
“We’ve been trying to figure out a way to comprehensively get a handle on this,” Kanuha said. “One issue pops up and one thing is resolved and then there’s another one.”