Laki Kaahumanu v. State of Hawaii, Department Of

I. Background

Over 200 public beaches in Hawai’i are under DLNR’s jurisdiction. See Beaches, Hawai’i Department of Land and Natural Resources, available at http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/land/ forms-1/WikiPermitLocations.pdf (last visited Feb. 10, 2012) (listing beaches). These include such beautiful beaches as Wailea Beach on Maui; Waimea Bay Beach on Oahu; and Papohaku Beach on Molokai. Many commercial companies provide services for recreational activities on Hawai’i’s beaches. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, these services were largely unregulated, with the result that some public beaches became congested by commercial enterprises. For example, kayak and surf schools stored equipment on and operated from public beaches, and hotels set out chairs and umbrellas in the morning before the general beach-going pub- lic arrived. KAAHUMANU v. STATE OF HAWAII 6313 In November 2002, DLNR began to regulate commercial activities on “unencumbered” public beaches. Unencumbered lands are public lands, including beaches, that have not been “(1) Set aside for any purpose, by statute, executive order, or other means to a governmental agency; or (2) Encumbered by lease, license,…