Originally Posted by
ajf87
It's pretty shocking at this point, the entitlement and willful ignorance. This is part of the reason why there is simmering tension between native and local Hawaiians and privileged, wealthy mainlanders and foreign tourists who own vacation homes (and thus help contribute to the state's housing crisis). That any property owner considers the beach in front of the beachfront property as their "own" is pretty arrogant and not grounded in reality. The beaches in Hawaii are all public, regardless of how much money you paid for your view.
Years ago I ran on the beach from the Kahala Hotel south, as far as I could before hitting a property that seemed to go out into the water. Anyone know if those parcels were from an earlier time before public beach access was a priority?
Anyway, I was struck by how I didn't see a single person enjoying any of the multimillion dollar mansions. The few people I saw were gardeners. I'm fine with rich people buying whatever properties they want, but I am struck at how wasteful it is that such prime land is seldom enjoyed by anyone. I've seen similar things in San Francisco's Sea Cliff neighborhood.