2025-11-07 PD Legal Memo (PL-BOA-2025-000119)

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Claiming that the proposed construction will adversely affect her ability to access emergency services at her property, evacuation routes from her property, and her ability to access the nearby public shoreline,Appellant timely filed her General Petition for Appeal on May 1, 2025, which was later amended by Amended Petition Planning Director on May 31, 2025 ("Petition"). II. Position Statement Land uses within SMA in Hawaii County are governed by HRS Chapter 205A and by Planning Commission Rule 9. The primary purposes of these SMA controls are to protect valuable resources along shorelines against environmental degradation and to ensure that adequate public access is maintained to the shoreline, the shoreline being the key focus of these regulations. The Hawaii State Legislature articulated that"special controls on developments within an area along the shoreline are necessary to avoid permanent losses of valuable resources and the foreclosure of management options, and to ensure that adequate access, by dedication or other means, to public owned or used beaches, recreation areas, and natural reserves is provided. The legislature finds and declares that it is the state policy to preserve,protect, and where possible, to restore the natural resources of the coastal zone of Hawaii." [emphasis added] See HRS 0205A-21. The criteria for approving development within the SMA focus on protection of the natural environment, establishment of public recreation areas, and ensuring access to the shoreline. See HRS§205A-26(1). Planning Commission Rule 9-2 echoes the purposes found in Chapter 205A,providing that"special controls on development within the area along the shoreline are necessary to avoid permanent loss of valuable resources and the foreclosure of management options, and to 3