Save Ala Moana!

by Tom Yamachika, President, Tax Foundation Hawaii

This week’s article comes from a tip from one of our very alert constituents.

It concerns one of the special funds set up in the City Charter of Honolulu that is fed automatically by an earmark on property tax revenues.  We spoke about them a few weeks ago.  Today’s topic of discussion is the Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund.

Our alert constituent pointed out that although the annual earmark from property tax gives fund $8 to $9 million a year, the money in this fund has been piling up.  According to the City’s most recent budget document, this fund had, at the end of fiscal year 2025, an “Unreserved Fund Balance,” meaning cash that is neither spent nor encumbered, of $65 million.

The City Charter provision establishing the fund says that it can be used for preservation of beaches and coastal areas, as well as public outdoor recreation.

Now, let’s take a look at Ala Moana Regional Park.  The City & County of Honolulu calls it “one of the state’s oldest and busiest parks, currently seeing an estimated four million users every year.”

Due to erosion, the park beach requires sand replenishment periodically.  An effort to plan and gain approvals for the project was begun sometime around 2019, which is the date the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a public notice asking for the public’s comments on an application for the project that the City had submitted to the Corps.

Six years later, we see an extension request being considered by the State Board of Land and Natural Resources for its approval of the work.  The extension request reads:  “Due to the continued impacts of COVID-19 on budgets and schedules, the Applicant was unable to comply with [a permit condition requiring work or construction to start within one year after approval] and a time extension was granted by [the Department of Land and Natural Resources] on February 24, 2022.  The City continues to seek funding for the project.  We respectfully request that [the existing permit] be again extended to allow adequate time for the Applicant to secure project funding and proceed with construction.”

So, on the one hand, we see that the City initiated an Ala Moana beach replenishment project in 2019 or earlier.  It had to and did get permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and the State Department of Land and Natural Resources.  They say they can’t execute the project because there’s no money to do so.

And, on the other hand, there is a special fund with tens of millions of dollars in it, and the scope of the fund includes preservation of beaches and coastal areas, including public recreation.

Is this making sense to you?

Furthermore, Ala Moana Regional Park surely isn’t the only beach out there that needs some TLC.

How about Waikiki Beach?  As recently as 2025 and 2026, officials were still pursuing planning, environmental review, and stabilization projects, indicating that substantial corrective work remains outstanding.

Why aren’t we using the tens of millions of dollars now in the special fund to at least make a dent in these problems?

Wake up, folks!  The Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund isn’t there simply to save up money for a rainy day.  It’s there to provide money for specific needs.  We have those needs and the projects, so let’s take care of them!