Hawaii News Now – KGMB and KHNL
There are rules in Hawaii. And every once in a while an out-of-towner breaks one of those rules, pisses somebody off, and potentially pays a hefty price for it. Facebook founder, chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t entered that territory, but if there’s one group of people he might not want to pester it’s his neighbors on Kauai. But he’s doing it anyway by building a Donald Trump style brick wall around his home on the island’s north shore.
To be clear Zuckerberg’s wall is completely legal, following all rules and regulations. The billionaire is building a sound barrier for traffic and road noise, and he reportedly wants to make his 700-acre, $100 million property as private as possible. As much as six weeks ago construction began on the six foot tall brick and mortar wall and now Zuckerberg’s neighbors are starting to complain. They simply feel like it isn’t very “neighborly” of him and are concerned that it’s blocked views of the ocean as well as the breeze that would wash over the now obstructed road.
“The feeling of it is really oppressive. It’s immense,” local resident Gy Hall told The Garden Island. “It’s really sad that somebody would come in, and buy a huge piece of land and the first thing they do is cut off this view that’s been available and appreciative by the community here for years.”
“I know that land belongs to Zuckerberg,” says another Kauai resident, Donna Mcmillen. “Money is no option for him. I’m 5’8” and when I’m walking, I see nothing but wall,” Mcmillen said. “It just doesn’t fit in with the natural beauty that we have here. There are people on the island who money can pay for anything. These kind of things that they do take away what Kauai is all about.”
In spite of their worries the breeze and the view are the only thing Zuckerberg’s wall will impact. Public access rights in Hawaii make all its beaches public, so it’s not like the tech executive can or will try to make the nearby stretch of sand and sea exclusive. Nonetheless, locals aren’t happy about it and the complaints are getting louder and more frequent over time.
On the flip side, at least one person is making a good argument for the locals being thankful Zuckerberg purchased the land and not somebody else. Jimmy Pflueger was the previous owner of the same plot of land who attempted to build an even larger wall over a decade ago. The project was so controversial that residents sued Pflueger and he was eventually ordered to take it down. Meanwhile, software engineer Brian Catlin told CBS that Zuckerberg saved the land from becoming a housing development, which he says would have increased traffic and noise in the area. And according to the Garden News at one point about half of the land now owned by Zuckerberg had been sectioned off for 80 luxury homes.
