Every Sunday, “Back in the Day” looks at an article that ran on this date in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The items are verbatim, so don’t blame us today for yesteryear’s bad grammar.
The Hawaiian Homes Commission wants the city to let the "beach people" continue to live at Waimanalo Beach Park until May 31.
At a meeting yesterday, commissioners voted to uphold a two-year agreement with the city to maintain Waimanalo and Makapuu beach parks but asked that the homeless campers be allowed to remain on the beach until alternative land can be found.
The commission directed its staff to spend the next month looking for new lands for those people who are native Hawaiians.
It also pledged to provide $10,000 to furnish the homeless Hawaiians with blankets and tents if an alternative site is found.
The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands can only provide land or money for native Hawaiians.
The city had ordered the beach people to leave the park by last Monday but questions about the jurisdiction of the land postponed any evictions.
Ownership of Waimanalo and Makapuu beach parks was returned to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in December by Gov. George Ariyoshi.
But because of maintenance costs, the commission approved a two-year agreement with the city to take care of the parks.
Yesterday, about 100 beach people and native Hawaiians gathered at the commission’s meeting to ask that the maintenance agreement be withdrawn.
A coalition of campers from Waimanalo, some who are native Hawaiians, asked the commission to negotiate with the city to continue to maintain the park and let the families live there as long as the area is kept open to the public.
Spokeswoman Kawahine Kamakea complained about the one-month grace period, saying it could be a year before the city completes construction of temporary housing.
While on the park property, the beach people said they could take care of permits for camping and some of the other responsibilities the city now handles.
"We can and do manage our own lands," Kamakea said.
