Shifting shorelines and political winds – The complexities of implementing the simple idea of shoreline setbacks for oceanfront developments in Maui, Hawaii
Abstract Building out of harm's way is a simple, precautionary, logical idea that respects the ocean's power along dynamic coastlines. Maui has more beaches than any island in Hawaii, attracting tourists and oceanfront investment. In the late 1960s, with the islands agrarian economy of sugar cane and pineapple exports faltering, the County's leadership began marketing its coastal resources as a destination economy, beaches chief among them ( Chu, 1965 ). The Island built a destination development economy out of its beaches, unique coastal resources and access to ocean recreation ( HTA, 2005 ). Good planning and foresight by the local municipal county government could have protected these natural assets, thereby sustaining the island's development. Instead, the county relied on a standardized building setback policy that failed to account for erosion prone areas. Four decades later, realizing the impending loss of the island's premier asset, namely beaches and access to the shoreline, the County moved to site-specific erosion-rate based setback policy. Government regulatory action, including setbacks for constructing buildings along the shoreline, form an integral part of the community's response to climate change and sea level rise ( Codiga et al., 2011 ). The erosion-based setback policy, now a decade old, encountered numerous problems with its implementation. This led to delays in government permitting of oceanfront development and a number of time-consuming amendments to revise the policy. Here we present the unanticipated outcomes of the policy's implementation, particularly challenges to demark the shoreline setback area and delineate erosion prone areas. We also discuss the inherent problems encountered when applying the method to properties with ocean on more than one side or irregularly shaped parcels and situations where cliffs or bluffs rise from the sea. With proper foresight, a destination economy can sustain its growth for years to come by prudently planning for coastal hazards while retaining the natural assets that formed the basis of their destination economy. We conclude by offering lessons learned from experience implementing shoreline setbacks that that will help coastal planners, practitioners, regulators and policy makers save time and avoid mistakes and delays when considering oceanfront development policies.