There are good reasons to charge for parking in heavily trafficked areas, rather than offer it for free. But in the case of the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor and its 300 or so free parking stalls, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) has not justified its determination to take away or whittle down this privilege — and therefore should back away from doing so.

Surfers and paddlers have had free access to this parking near the harbor’s ocean entry for decades. It provides access to the surf spots Bowls, Rockpiles and Kaisers, and is also used by the Anuenue Canoe Club. Other members of the public come and park to watch the surfers or a sunset, and to stroll the harbor, despite its poor condition, and admire the boats. To change this is wrenching, from a local’s point of view.

If the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) intends to change public policy, it must be clearly announced and placed on a public meeting agenda. Instead, BLNR buried parking proposals as “remarks” on a (since-deleted) Nov. 9 agenda item to issue the harbor parking concession. No indication was given on the agenda itself, or in announcements previous to the meeting, that parking charges would be considered. Frankly, that reeks of subterfuge.

Fortunately, a group of waterfront users organized as “Save Surf Parking” was monitoring the issue, and protested — properly.

The state’s Office of Information Practices (OIP), which safeguards the public’s interest in “sunshine,” or open meetings, advised BLNR on Monday to cancel any consideration of a parking change. Failure to list items set for consideration violates Hawaii’s Sunshine Law, OIP warned, setting any action up for a justifiable legal challenge.

Tellingly, the BLNR also failed to provide remote-meeting links, which would have allowed for testimony online. “The Sunshine Law requires such information to be included in meeting notices,” OIP staff attorney Lori Kato informed BLNR Chairperson Dawn Chang.

The meeting was canceled, and has been rescheduled for Dec. 8.

It’s vital that BLNR and administrators at DLNR’s Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR), the office pressing to make this parking change, grasp the necessity of proper public notice and open meetings before taking any further action.

Public access to Hawaii’s shorelines is codified in state law, and these free stalls are avidly used by ocean goers. They make up about one-third of the total parking in the harbor; the rest is permit parking for boat users and metered or paid parking. And while DOBOR leaders say hotel and construction workers are improperly parking there, it’s also been recorded that empty spaces are typically available. The need to charge users — or reduce access — is not urgent.

In January, defenders of the free parking gained enough traction to have Senate Bill 1034 introduced, with seven sponsors. The bill, which would have enshrined the 300 free spaces in state law, passed through two committees unanimously, despite opposition from DLNR. However, it stalled in Ways and Means.

“There are no immediate plans to change any of the free parking at the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor,” DOBOR assistant administrator Meghan Statts stated, in February. Between then and now, DOBOR did change intentions, but failed to consider the public’s right to know. That kind of shifty action, by any state department, must end.

At some future point, changes will and must come to the harbor. In 2022, a Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor “Vision Report” noted that the harbor is in need of repairs, with too much blacktop, poor access for pedestrians and cyclists, and a crumbling, abandoned gas/boat store site that can’t be leased until fixes are made.

DOBOR plans to issue a request for proposals for a public-private development, and recommendations include adding a parking structure, so that hot asphalt can be converted to a grassy, shady seating area for visitors at this “gateway to Waikiki.” At that point, it could be justified to change parking allotments.

However, efforts to find a partner and redevelop the harbor have floundered for years — and until the state has its ducks in a row, it’s premature to target harbor users.