People — most of them homeless — will no longer be able to take advantage of a jurisdictional loophole that allowed them to sleep overnight at Fort DeRussy Beach in Waikiki and evade the city’s sidewalk, park closure and stored property laws.
The state Board of Land and Natural Resources voted unanimously Friday to issue the city a one-year revocable permit, at no cost, giving the city management authority over the beach. The approval allows Honolulu police and other city workers to enforce city laws there, "for health and safety reasons."
Since a new law banning sitting or lying on sidewalks within the Waikiki Special Design District went into effect Sept. 16, a growing number of homeless people have taken advantage of the legal loophole, which excluded the city from enforcing its laws at the beach.
Up to two to three dozen homeless people have been showing up after dark each day at Fort DeRussy and camping out, various sources said. Their presence has led to complaints by area hotel operators, residents and community leaders.
The loophole exists because in 2010, as part of a proposed transfer of a larger amount of land from one state agency to another, the state did not finish the paperwork to transfer the Fort DeRussy Beach portion, BLNR staff said.
Land Board Chairman William Aila told reporters after the meeting that "that little section of beach at Fort DeRussy is not included in the definition of Waikiki Beach waters, so we came to the conclusion, via some discussions with the attorney general’s office, that there are really no administrative rules we could use to manage the area — whether it be for homeless purposes or any other illegal concessions, or any activities in that area."
Giving the city jurisdictional authority during the next year will allow the state to complete that work, which should lead to ultimate authority being granted to the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation, Aila said.
During the BLNR hearing, board member Stanley Roehrig voiced concerns that shutting the beach off to overnight campers would likely force homeless to move elsewhere, and he questioned whether the state has an obligation to provide alternative options to those people.
But Aila insisted that the city is doing the state a favor by enforcing city laws as it does on other Waikiki beaches, he said.
The city would not be responsible for erosion control, sand replenishment or sand cleaning on the beach during the term of the permit.
City Managing Director Ember Shinn said she expects a formal agreement between the city and state to be completed next week, at which time enforcement of park closure hours will begin at Fort DeRussy.
City officials estimate between 20 and 30 people have been camping nightly at the beach.
Acting Maj. Lisa Mann, commander of the Honolulu Police Department’s Waikiki patrol district, said in an email that from Sept. 16 to Wednesday, officers issued 15 sit-lie citations and 227 warnings. Most have been along Kalakaua and Kuhio avenues, Waikiki’s two main pedestrian thoroughfares. The law bars anyone from lying or sitting down on public sidewalks in the Waikiki Special Design District, defined as the area between the Ala Wai Canal, Kapahulu Avenue and the ocean, 24 hours a day. The ordinance does allow some exemptions including medical problems, expressive speech and parades.
HPD has stressed that it will first warn a person, and then if the person ignores the warning, police will issue a citation. If, after a citation is issued, a person continues to violate an ordinance, the person may be arrested.
Also going into effect Sept. 16 was a separate ordinance banning urination and defecation in public areas of Waikiki. Mann said that as of Oct. 8 two citations have been issued and one person arrested for that offense. The person arrested also was suspected of committing a felony drug offense, she said.
Some homeless advocates and service providers say, like Roehrig, that the Waikiki sit-lie bill and the additional enforcement at Fort DeRussy Beach might simply push sidewalk dwellers into other sections of Honolulu.
In a related move, the Land Board voted 7-0 to dismiss a request by the human rights advocacy group Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery that the BLNR reconsider its decision granting the city permission to use a 5-acre state property at Sand Island as a temporary shelter for up to 100 people agreeing to join the city’s Housing First program.
PASS says the city should have been required to conduct an environmental assessment before the board granted it a three-year no-cost lease.
