The Hawai'i Supreme Court's landmark ruling regarding shoreline access is a sensible one and provides a much-needed resolution to an issue that has festered for three decades.

The court ruled that boundaries of public beach must be established as wide as is reasonably possible. This means private beachfront property ends at the highest reach of the waves at high tide in winter, regardless of the location of vegetation.

In the end, whether you're a beachfront property owner or just a beach user, the clarification of state law stands to benefit everyone.

In the past, some landowners have pushed the line in their favor by planting and irrigating vegetation, encroaching on public beaches. The issue picked up steam as shoreline erosion threatened seaside homes and prompted property owners to build seawalls that drastically cut into the amount of sandy beach accessible to the public.

The court's decision has finally taken the guessing game out of where private property ends and public property begins. It provides guidance to both homeowners of existing properties and to county zoning officials responsible for establishing safe setbacks for construction.

And it reaffirms the legal and cultural importance of public access to our beaches.

The court's ruling involved the case of two residents of Ha'ena, Kaua'i, who fought the building of beachfront homes on the edge of a public beach there. After two failed appeals to the Board of Land and Natural Resources and the 5th Circuit Court, the residents finally got the results they had sought.

But there are still other issues that must be resolved.

Natural beach erosion over time may cause changes in the shoreline watermark. And this ruling does not fully address the seawall issue.

Now that the ruling has created a starting point, a much broader discussion that balances property rights and the conservation of our natural shoreline is needed to prevent further confusion in the future.