A year after state officials asked 12 Kahala landowners to cut back vegetation to improve beach access, only one has complied.

The situation has beach access advocates calling for clearer definitions on whose responsibility it is to clear the plants from the beach, as the state says it has no immediate plans to pursue the landowners who have not complied in Kahala.

"At this point, it's kind of just in a stalling pattern," said Samuel Lemmo, state Department of Land and Natural Resources administrator for the Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands. Lemmo said the letters to Kahala landowners sent out in May 2008 were "the first regional approach" the state took on vegetation encroaching on beach access.

In the past, letters have been sent out individually in response to complaints.

Lemmo added that he believes it is the landowner's responsibility to deal with the vegetation, but said pursuing landowners who choose not to comply would require time and money. Given all of the other issues and fiscal constraints DLNR is dealing with, Lemmo said, he's not sure investing such resources in the problem is even possible.

But he added that the situation is being discussed.

And one of the solutions being considered is having state workers cut back the plants.

Beach access advocates say vegetation on the beach is increasingly a statewide problem, and one that is taking away valuable beach space from the public. Rich Figel, of Beach Access, said he believes the city and state should form a task force to tackle the vegetation issue along with other shoreline management concerns, including erosion.

Figel said the vegetation issue is especially tough because it's not clear who is responsible for making sure plants are kept in check to ensure beach access. He added that he has heard of cases of beachfront homeowners encouraging the growth of plants on the shoreline for security or other reasons. "Some of it is natural," he said, while some is "caused by homeowners purposely growing out vegetation from their properties."

Lawmakers tried to address the issue in the last legislative session, with a measure aimed at spelling out that homeowners are responsible for keeping their plants on the beach in check. The bill didn't pass, but advocates say it will likely be re-introduced.

The vegetation issue in Kahala, where the state focused its efforts last year, has resulted in areas of the beach with almost no sandy beach at high tide. Kahala homeowners who were asked to cut back the plants had varying reasons for not complying, including concerns about erosion. Several also said that the plants weren't their responsibility.

Marco Chiu, caretaker for one of the properties that the state sent letters to, replied with questions about the specific law that requires homeowners to take care of the plants.

He said he never got a letter in return.

"If the state wants to cut it, we're not against it," he said. But in the meantime, he added, the plants - mostly naupaka — will stay because he believes that they're abating erosion. Figel countered that studies show vegetation actually speeds up erosion on beaches.

The Kahala landowners were asked to cut back from two to 15 feet of vegetation, depending on how wide the beach was in different areas. The one landowner who complied cut back about three feet of plants in June 2008, according to DLNR documents.