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In an earlier post (“Ahab and the whale“) I alluded to the state’s propensity to ‘off’ the Golden Goose with the implementation of permits for beach weddings. A meeting between the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and Oahu wedding professionals held yesterday (Monday, August 11) bears this out.
The goose, still honking but trussed (with permitting requirements), is in the pot and the heat has been turned up.
Jill Carl of the Maui Wedding Association attended this gathering and reported the outcome yesterday morning.
“It was as we suspected,” she told me. “The state is moving ahead with more restrictions placed on the wedding industry.”
The restrictions, according to Carl, include banning the use of ‘props’ such as wedding chairs, arches, dinners on the beach, wedding cakes and cake tables. Laura Thielen, interim director of the DLNR ticked off her list of restricted items, all the while repeating, “We’ll work with you (the wedding industry).”
Industry reps were visibly upset. Questions to Thielen about the draconian nature of increased regulation prompted a visibly angry Thielen to respond, “Have we turned down anybody’s request [for a permit]?”
She suggested companies whose clients desire chairs, or even a cake table, do their wedding at a resort or on private property. She didn’t suggest how couples would pay for a resort wedding.
I’m meeting with Jill Carl and other wedding companies this week to discuss this unfolding issue. Something needs to be done to curtail increased regulation by the state. In many areas, not just weddings, the DLNR is throttling not only local businesses, but the multiple thousands who travel to Hawaii each year as well.
Conservation is important. I’m all for protecting Maui’s natural resources. But weddings are among the most benevolent activities that occur on Maui’s beaches. Even surfing schools have caught the gaze of the stern ’schoolmarm,’ Lauren Thielen. With a severe rap to their knuckles, she has approved the teaching of this HAWAIIAN art, but not the use of surfboards. Surfboards are, apparently, a “prop” as well.
The state, along with the DLNR seem determined to recreate the experience travelers have enjoyed for many decades. They want to turn this place, it’s trails, beaches, waterfalls and lava flows into a museum. You can look, as long as you stand behind the rope.
Who knows what the future will bring? Maybe a ‘virtual’ experience -online only- hosted by a mothering, “protecting the aina” department of the state.
In closing:
I’ll keep you informed.
Aloha,
Ron Winckler
Pacific Island Weddings Ltd.
because maui and las vegas are oceans apart®
August 13, 2008 at 12:08 pm |
This is outrageous! The DLNR has gone way out of their way to destroy the wedding industry in Hawaii. Good point Ron, “You can look, as long as you stand behind the rope.” We can not just lie down and let the DLNR steamroller drive all over us. What happened to the “pursuit of happiness” and the right to practice “religious ceremonies”? What about the large groups of locals who have huge campsites set up on the beach for weeks at a time bring everything but the kitchen sink? The have multiple tents, ice chests, tables and chairs, even a refrigerator and a generator! Where is the permit to do that? What about the large “raves” of youngsters who party on the beach drink and light bonfires? And all the trash that they leave behind, where is the DLNR when you need them?
The State is cutting off it’s own nose despite it’s face. Don’t they realize that weddings on the beaches bring countless visitors to Hawaii to spend money on everything from tropical flowers and limousines to hotel rooms and restaurants? Do they know what the repercussions will be when this excessive over regulation of weddings on the beach hits mainstream America and the rest of the world? We know they already know, and now they are going to think twice before planning a “beautiful beach wedding in Hawaii”. How much room does it take to have a cake table on the beach? about the same as a beach-goer setting up his beach chair and cooler. How can this be obtrusive to the aina? Just because someone is making a few dollars on the cake (as you know there is little profit in setting up a cake). And just because someone is making a few dollars on 10 or 20 chairs, does this bothers the State of Hawaii? These few dollars here and there are what we pay our bills with, send our children to school with, pay our rent and run our businesses with. We pay out taxes to the State, County and Feds, I’m sure they realize that their GET payment is getting smaller each month.
We have to do something besides having “door mat” written on our foreheads. We need to take the State to court over this issue, over too much regulation and stiff penalties for not playing by their rules. And what about the rules? The rules are changing daily since August 1st (it’s only the 13th and the rules have changed countless times). How far can they push us out of business? The State did it to the vacation rentals and now it’s our turn at bat, strike one, two three, You’re Out! We don’t have a problem with the permits, we do have a problem with the rest of it. A class action suit against the State for singling out the wedding industry is in order… where do I sign up?
August 13, 2008 at 1:16 pm |
Aloha Ron and Tim, I wonder about the timing of DNLR imposing these harsh restrictions and expenses on the small wedding business professionals. Just when the island need the tourists the most, they seem to be doing everything they can to impair our ability to serve our visitors.
As a small wedding business and after the last DNLR meeting yesterday, I will no longer help couples coordinate their photographer, music, etc. I will be a minister only. This will change the visiting couples experience in a negative way because they will not know who to hire for their ceremonies.
Whatever I can do to support your efforts in keeping Hawaii as a pleasurable experience; I’m here.
Mahalo for all your efforts, Rev. Toni Baran
August 16, 2008 at 6:18 pm |
Thank you for keeping us informed! I think that while we need to be respectful of the culture and land most of have always done this with very little exception. Comparing our industry to the behaviors of others is not constructive but revenue lost BY ALL from other vendors who are not on the beach to the state who collects GET and State Income Taxes from ALL small business owners is a very important point.
What is the reason for this and where is DNLR when you need them for people who do not respect the beaches and parks is a very important point. Selective singling out is important to analyze and while locals should be able to party for days on their land there are much worse issues. I live in an area in Wailuku where the beach would take years of strong community effort and hard labor to restore because of all the trash and the number of large trucks that drive on it everyday…yet when you call the DNLR they could care less about this and the police issue warnings, sometimes with a laugh!
The wedding industry for the most part is composed of mostly hard working middle class self-employed people who love what they do and who demand that their clients clean-up after themselves, follow drinking laws and respect others who are getting married when there have been lines of couples waiting to get married. I have never had a quarrel with a fellow professional in fact communication among us seems better than most. While some professionals are competitive and ‘not so nice’ my experience that we are all interdependent and realize this quite consciously and treat each other accordingly, with respect.
I am against it all; permits, further restrictions, etc. Why should a young punk be able to drive in front of my home on the beach and go unchecked yet I could get fined more than I can afford for not having a RED TAPE permit? The permit also is a major deterrent to the clients and is unnecessary, not to mention just another detail that needs to be dealt with and offers no solutions for last minute change of locations (which happen often enough), etc.
I think a Class Action Law Suit against the state is a great idea; I think it could be won if enough people sign-up and the case is well prepared. I know that usually when I use a public beach for a wedding it is usually short and respectful of locals and visitors alike…and since not all people are so respectful of the land I often have to clean up rubbish BEFORE a wedding unless I want it in the photos (not to mention the land) so usually when I leave a beach with my wedding party it is CLEANER than when I arrived.
There are a lot of considerations here and while there are grassroots Nationalists I respect regarding the land this is not even an issue…we are dealing with STATE Government headed-up by a REPUBLICAN who loves BUSH! That to me says it all…screw small business! I don’t think our government is that influenced by ‘a look from behind a rope attitude’ or influenced by conservation or returning land to those whom it was stolen from. The Blue Pool in Hana is a good example of that (for those that know the story).
It is true that most visitors go to much expense to come here (and some bring many others with them) that pay inflated prices for rentals and hotels, restaurants and rental cars. And after all this their actual wedding budget is small and most of us try to accommodate this even though in many cases our services are worth more than we get for them. I don’t know the statewide percentage of people who come here for weddings but on Maui it is definitely noteworthy and revenues from tourism which the STATE so pushes and wants is hurting itself and needs a wake up call.
Let’s give it to them…who knows a good lawyer? The premise for a Class Action could simply be that any business owner who has bought a permit could sue them to stop this practice and recover damages for monies paid for permits which could be significant. The lawyer willing to take this up could have most of it as far as I am concerned. We can police ourselves just fine. I will buy a permit just to participate in the lawsuit. Anyone want to look into this and see if it could happen and if we could prevail? I think it is a great idea. Even if we did not win outright it would demonstrate to the world watching that we care and it would probably bring some positive concessions that would make things easier for all of us and our clients. If you are here for the long haul then the time to fight is NOW and this is the best idea I have heard yet.
With respect to all,
Kevin Lash
Hawaii Wedding Photo