• Law targets Kapalama Canal camps

In an effort to break up a homeless camping area in Kalihi, the city will erect a mile-long, chain-link fence on both banks of the Kapalama Canal between Olomea and Kalani streets by the end of the year. 

The fence, which will be 4 feet high, is expected to cost $240,000, said Ross Sasamura, director and chief engineer of Honolulu’s Department of Facility Maintenance. 

Once the fence is up, Sasamura said that dozens of vehicles will no longer be able to park on the Kokea Street/Diamond Head bank of the canal directly across from Honolulu Community College. 

A city maintenance crew cleared sidewalk structures and personal belongings from the canal area Tuesday as part of the city’s ongoing enforcement actions tied to two city ordinances. 

The 4-year-old stored-property ordinance (SPO) makes it illegal to store belongings on public property, and the 2-year-old sidewalk nuisance ordinance (SNO) prohibits blocking city sidewalks. 

By midday Wednesday, more than 30 makeshift dwellings had resurfaced along the canal.