By Trish Moore, Star-Bulletin
Melissa and Doug Underwood, newlyweds from Minneapolis,
return to their car after visiting secluded Donkey Beach. They
said they went to the beach because it was listed in their guidebooks
as a place for nude sunbathing.
Kauai cracking
down on nudity
at its beaches
'It's been tolerated, but it's
By Trish Moore
starting to get a little
out of control'
Star-BulletinKEALIA, Kauai -- David Kelley has sunbathed in the nude at secluded Donkey Beach on Kauai for 11 years.
But he says he was napping under a tree wearing a G-string Aug. 13, the day he was cited by police.
He says he would have contested the ticket if he were not leaving for an extended trip to the mainland, but yesterday he pleaded no contest to the charge of open lewdness and paid the $100 fine.
Police don't have to witness someone without their clothes but can issue a citation based on a complaint from a witness, said Kauai Deputy Prosecutor Eric Moon.
Six citations have been issued to nudists at Donkey Beach in the last couple of months, which has caught many by surprise.
Although exposing one's genitals is against state laws, nudists say that for more than 25 years, they've been left alone at Donkey Beach -- until recently.
The citations at Donkey Beach appear to be part of a widespread effort to stop nudity at other Kauai beaches.
Susan Kanoho, executive director of the Kauai Visitors Bureau, said she has heard concerns from some in the community that nudity is becoming a problem elsewhere on the island.
"It's not just on the remote beaches anymore," Kanoho said. "Yes, it's been tolerated, but it sounds like it's starting to get a little out of control. We're starting to get an image that it's OK anywhere."
Kanoho said that Kauai is becoming more of a family-oriented destination and that there are "more children viewing this, which can be offensive."
But eradicating nudity at Donkey Beach is an uphill battle. The beach's reputation and seclusion has it mentioned as a nude beach in most guidebooks about Kauai, and it attracts nudists from all over the world.
"It's not something that will be fixed overnight," Kanoho admitted. She said the industry is working with government agencies to put up signs that warn beach-goers that nudity is against state laws.
She also plans to let guidebook publishers know that they are misleading people by promoting Donkey Beach as a nude beach.
Kelley said he's most upset that there was no warning that police were going to start issuing citations.
"They are going about this the wrong the way. It's a total 180-degree turnaround," he said.
Kelley and other nudists who frequent the beach say the citations started after the land above the beach changed owners.
They say they are being spied upon and harassed by employees of Kealia Plantation Co. LLC, who stand on the bluffs overlooking the beach to spot nudists and then report them to the police.
Lorna Rosa, an attorney for the company, denied that workers contracted to clear the land above the beach were directed by the owners to report the nudists.
The company has been clearing the 300 acres of former sugar cane land between the highway and the beach in preparation for a subdivision, she said.
"We've called the police down here before, and they helped us catch a group of teen-agers that stole this guy's backpack," said Joseph Coker, a Donkey Beach regular. "They've never had any interest in citing the nudists."
Police couldn't be reached for comment, but a spokesperson for Mayor Maryanne Kusaka acknowledged that the county is encouraging enforcement of nudity laws.
Kapaa business owner Ann Leighton said: "There are some issues that are casualties to the passage of time, and I have to say that Donkey Beach is going to be one of these. I don't personally have a problem with it, but when it's something that offends the community at large, people need to understand when they're not in the majority of public opinion."
Coker is looking on the bright side, though.
"We've started carrying G-strings in our stores, and they're selling like hotcakes, especially the bright pink ones," he said. "As long as your reproductive organs are covered, you can let everything else hang out."
