A court order issued last week gives the state until Aug. 7 to remove the concrete barriers that block access to an unimproved parking area across from Laniakea Beach.
But a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation said the barriers at the popular North Shore beach might not come down by the deadline.
State officials are analyzing the wording of Circuit Judge Gary Chang’s order to see what options are available, DOT spokesman Tim Sakahara said.
"The court issued the order, and the Hawaii Department of Transportation will comply," Sakahara said.
However, he said, "in the court order there are options, if you will, and so we might exhaust some of those options and see if they’re feasible, but at this point we’re certainly working towards complying with the order."
The preliminary injunction calls for the DOT to remove the barriers "as soon as practicable, but under no circumstances later than 30 days" from the July 8 order.
They could not be reinstalled, the order said, until DOT gets special management area and shoreline setback variance permits, or "the city lawfully directs the installation of traffic barriers on the park area as part of the city’s determination of the permitted and duly authorized usage of its own park lands," or if directed by the court.
"If Aug. 7 comes and there’s no other avenues or options, certainly we’re going to comply with the court order," Sakahara said. "The state will be ready to remove the barriers if that is the last option."
City officials, however, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that as far as they are concerned, it’s up to the state to seek the permits from the city Department of Planning and Permitting.
Even if the city wants the barriers to stay up, "I don’t think we have a choice" in the matter, said Jesse Broder Van Dyke, spokesman for Mayor Kirk Caldwell.
"We feel it’s just a legal, permitting issue that we’re not allowed to ignore," he said. Broder Van Dyke said that as far as he knew, DOT has not applied for the permits.
The group Save Laniakea took DOT to court seeking to remove the barriers, arguing that they hinder the public from enjoying the unique qualities of the beach, including its surf break and turtle population.
State officials, however, say parking at the site — which requires people to cross Kamehameha Highway to reach the beach — has created a chaotic and potentially dangerous situation and a traffic nightmare.
Meanwhile a group calling itself Concerned North Shore Residents placed an advertisement in Tuesday’s Star-Advertiser calling on the state and city to redirect the highway into city-owned land mauka and then create a new, paved parking lot on the same side as the sand.
It is one of several plans that have been under consideration by DOT.
