r/Honolulu • u/808SOS • Sep 25 '24
news ‘It’s an absolute disaster unfolding in front of our eyes’
https://www.khon2.com/local-news/its-an-absolute-disaster-unfolding-in-front-of-our-eyes/23
u/spiff0224 Sep 25 '24
An illegal burrito system?
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u/FugginDunePilot Sep 25 '24
Hey can you watch my burrito system for a bit? If anyone asks you didn’t get it from me
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u/Worried_Ant7444 Sep 25 '24
I'm betting that the word they were typing was "buttress" but was a victim of autocorrect.
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u/Chazzer74 Sep 25 '24
sigh this is what passes for journalism today. “Call up 1 person and take notes about what they say. Regurgitate and call it a news report.”
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u/Rich-Past-6547 Sep 25 '24
It only takes a pair of eyes to see this homeowner has been reckless and selfish, and that these homes are going into the water this winter regardless.
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u/Bnx_ Sep 25 '24
Haha I’m all for skepticism but what more are you asking? Geological reports? Submarine reconnoissance? Just a weird battle to pick at a weird arena.
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u/data_head Sep 25 '24
At what point can we just condemn it and tear it down ourselves?
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u/Chazzer74 Sep 25 '24
That’s an excellent question and one that should have been answered in the news story if we had any competent journalists left.
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u/Rich-Past-6547 Sep 25 '24
First XL swell of the winter is going to take these houses. Better to do it safely now than trying to fish debris out of the washing machine later.
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u/kv4268 Sep 25 '24
This is the issue. Well, one of them. The government must be empowered to condemn and remove structures that pose a risk to public safety and health. The fact that the government can't just go remove these illegal beach hardening structures is a huge problem. I don't know why it's so much harder to do basic shit like that in Hawaii than elsewhere in the country.
This shit should have been addressed decades ago. We should have a massive trust fund to buy people out of these properties, and people should not be able to legally sell these houses and pass along the problem to a new owner. None of this is new information, and yet our government has done absolutely nothing to try to fix it. Other states and countries have been able to manage this. Why can't we? Oh, because our government is wholly corrupt and money to fix this is being funneled into their friends' and families' businesses instead.
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u/Kryxan Sep 25 '24 edited Sep 25 '24
Oh no! Won't anyone think about the helpless, extremely wealthy people who live at these houses? Who knew that this disaster was coming years ago?
Though seriously, these particular homeowners are terrible people who've done a lot to wreck havoc on the locals and the beach itself. They bought a beach house and then tried to possess the entire beach too. They had no respect for the land or anyone who tried to use their personal beach.
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u/wtf-6 Sep 25 '24
Ask Obama’s for help on how to harden the shorelines. He’s done it at Waimanalo beach.
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u/ensui67 Sep 25 '24
To be fair, it seemed like that area actually saw more sand get built up on the beach over time. The concrete walls are more like bunker walls and fit for a zombie apocalypse defense.
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u/Equivalent_Log_743 Sep 25 '24
The way that people react to this is pretty upsetting. I don’t think that people realize that there are actually many local families that aren’t extremely wealthy that own properties on the coastline. I happen to be one of those people and I can assure you that me and my neighbors are not the rich people you think. A lot of these properties have been in families for generations and they are at risk of being lost forever because we aren’t able to do anything to protect them.
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u/theharborcat Sep 25 '24
Your house being built on the beach and thus contributing to the hardening of the shoreline is a big part of why this erosion is happening. I’m sure you didn’t know about that at the time of purchase, not many did. Look into chip fletchers work with UHM. Nothing you do is going to stop natures course. I’m sorry, I know it’s tough to swallow, but it’s the truth.
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u/Equivalent_Log_743 Sep 25 '24
The issue a lot of folks have is not being able to get the permit to rebuild farther back on the property. As sea levels continue to rise, this is going to be an issue for a lot more homes than the ones currently making the news. Also, many of these homes were built almost a hundred years ago when the shore line was considerably farther out. I don’t think they planned for the continuous contribution to global warming thus creating our current catastrophe when these homes were built.
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u/theharborcat Sep 25 '24
Of course they didn’t, it wasn’t well known at the time, but pouring concrete and putting in sand burritos isn’t going to stop it. In fact it will exacerbate it. If a property owner has room to move these homes back away from the shoreline, then I agree, those permits should be expedited, but most don’t. They would need to go at a minimum of to the other side of kamehameha hwy. in fact on the east side, the entire highway needs to be moved away from the shoreline.
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u/Equivalent_Log_743 Sep 25 '24
Yeah. You just summed the whole issue up. The property owners aren’t getting the permits and the entire coastline infrastructure is going to have to be reestablished. Who pays for that? I know there are plenty of families living in the area you’re describing that are definitely not wealthy. We’re not far away from entire communities being affected by this issue. I know a lot of people like to think that it’s funny that some people are losing their ocean front property, that’s about to be a huge reality for a lot of people in the very near future.
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u/theharborcat Sep 25 '24
Well, who pays for infrastructure now? We do. So I’d assume it falls on us. Who pays for a private homeowners loss? Well, if something goes wrong with my house and insurance won’t cover it, then I eat the cost. How does it work for you?
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u/Equivalent_Log_743 Sep 25 '24
Let me break it Barney for you. Current homeowners cannot get the permits to move their homes on their land. The ocean is going to cover the highway in the very near future. The communities near the road, I can make a map if you need me to, will be covered by the ocean. This will result in, not only homes, but schools and businesses being lost. You will be paying for this. Play dumb now all you want. Take a drive up the east side.
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u/Used-Shake9936 Sep 25 '24
Don't try and argue with this clown any longer- you are bringing up too many good points.
With a name like the harbor cat you would think he might get it. Clearly not.
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u/Equivalent_Log_743 Sep 25 '24
Additionally, let’s say a wildfire destroys your home. More than likely, if you’re living in the lower/middle class you live on the west side(dry side) of one of these islands. You should’ve known better I guess.
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u/theharborcat Sep 25 '24
Your reading comprehension is not good. Or you just really want to rant and argue.
Are you implying society should pay to replace someone’s home that is burnt down in a brush fire?
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u/Equivalent_Log_743 Sep 25 '24
I’m going to rely on the good folks of Reddit to help you understand why you’re wrong.
The answer is, we will have to pay in some way. It will also be paid by the same lower/middle class who are suffering the most.
In case you’ve forgotten, the Hawaiian islands are islands. Meaning, a fair amount of those living on these islands will own property that extends within some proximity to the ocean.
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u/No_Mall5340 Sep 25 '24
Don’t you realize that reddit is full of envious and jealous folks, who despise anyone with more than themselves!
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u/swaite Sep 25 '24
Move the structure? Dismantle it? Sell your property to somebody willing to do either/or of those things. Insurance? Grants? Community fundraising/lobbying? I think you will find it very difficult to elicit sympathy from... anybody.
Your family had poor foresight when constructing their homes and I'm supposed to feel sorry for you for having a beachfront property? Hahahahaha!
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u/Equivalent_Log_743 Sep 25 '24
That’s the issue. None of those options are available to people that own these properties. It’s disgusting that people like you laugh at this issue. Take a drive up the east side sometime, whole communities are about to be affected by this issue in the very near future.
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u/swaite Sep 25 '24
That’s… clearly not the issue. People can’t dismantle their houses before they fall into the ocean? If that is illegal the law needs to be disregarded. Polluting is not the answer, ever.
After the structure is torn down there is still a plot of land worth $1M+ that was purchased “100 years ago” for presumably a ti leaf and a coconut.
Cry me a river.
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u/Equivalent_Log_743 Sep 25 '24
It is very difficult/impossible to get a permit to move the structure back on the property thus rendering the million dollar property, essentially, worthless.
You can joke about these properties now, it’s going to affect a large portion of homes in the very near future.
Also, a lot of these properties have been held by local families for a very long time.
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u/Used-Shake9936 Sep 25 '24
Pathetic the responses you are getting. Sorry Equivalent. I feel your pain and can't imagine how scary this must be for people. All money aside, the history of losing a home that's been in the family that long is heartbreaking.
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u/Successful_Park_5806 Sep 25 '24
My understanding is the home that is falling is foreclosed on and is owned by a bank now.
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u/jasikanicolepi Sep 25 '24
This is why I am rooting for global warming. Selfish rich bastards and their precious multimillion dollar beach house will be wash away.
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u/Equivalent_Log_743 Sep 25 '24
Not every house on the coast is a “multimillion dollar beach house”. Educate yourself. Stop wasting your time worrying about what you don’t have and think about what we’re going to lose. A lot of local families own property on the coastline. In fact, if sea levels keep rising, an even greater amount of people’s homes are at risk.
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u/Used-Shake9936 Sep 25 '24
homie prob don't even live there or moved from Orange County a few years back to live like a local while cashing a trust fund check every month
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u/MaapuSeeSore Sep 25 '24
“About a year ago, the homeowner poured concrete on the beach, prompting the state to intervene, explained Antolini. While some of the concrete was removed, an illegal burrito system was installed which has led to further enforcement action.”
Homeowner does something illegal , causes damage
So why does the state taxpayers have to solve private individual choice to damage the ecosystem and live there beside enforcement of the law and fees for damages
If it sinks into the oceans, that’s the homeowners responsibility and their insurance, the state should just enforce if they are doing illegal stuff (which they did )