New guidelines aim to increase beach space in Waikiki

The state and Waikiki stakeholders have adopted new guidelines to manage conflict over the increase of commercial beach umbrellas occupying space on Waikiki’s public beaches.

The new guidelines, which took effect in November, emerged from Act 145, which in 2014 directed the Department of Land and Natural Resources to address conflicts between beach users at the crowded swath of beach in front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the Moana Surfrider and the Outrigger Waikiki.

Doug Meller, an Oahu resident, said he and others have long been concerned that some commercial vendors were improperly taking away public beach space by illegally storing commercial equipment and setting up umbrellas and chairs even when they weren’t in use and hadn’t been reserved by paying customers.

“I’ve been complaining since 2013,” Meller said. “For several decades the DLNR has been able to administratively impose civil fines on scofflaws who violate DLNR rules and/or encroach on state property. I don’t understand why the DLNR has not done so at Waikiki Beach.”

Frustrated by DLNR’s response time, Meller said he supported Senate Resolution 27, which last year required DLNR to file a legislative update. As a result, DLNR put together a working group that included hotel managers, beach vendors and members of the Waikiki Beach Special Improvement District Association, the Waikiki Neighborhood Board and the Waikiki Improvement Association. On Dec. 22 they filed the required legislative update, which can be read at 808ne.ws/Waikikiguidelines.

“Public beach access is very important. Our goal is to ensure enjoyable and fair public beach access for residents and visitors alike,” said DLNR spokeswoman Deborah Ward.

The guidelines clarify that setting up beach equipment without a customer physically present, known as presetting, violates the 1965 SurfRider-Royal Hawaiian Sector Beach Agreement. All beach equipment must be rented to a named customer prior to occupying limited beach space.

Ward said DLNR has observed improvements since the new guidelines took effect.

“There are fewer beach chairs on the beach, and more passing space. We also asked the vendors to clean up the things they were storing on the beach, including tubes, chairs, pedal boats, etc.,” she said.

Meller said he saw improvement in November but that it didn’t last. On Dec. 28, he said, he took pictures of “rows and rows of vacant preset commercial beach chairs and umbrellas on the public beach easement makai of the Royal Hawaiian and Outrigger Resorts.”

Meller forwarded pictures of illegal activity to DLNR but said it has not responded.

Ward said DLNR is allowing for self-monitoring until the end of January and has not issued any citations yet.

Dolan Eversole, coordinator of the Waikiki Beach Special Improvement District Association, said the new guidelines are positive, but said stronger DLNR enforcement will be key to making them work.

“One of the things that I heard from the working group almost universally was the perceived lack of enforcement of the existing rules within DLNR. They wanted to work with all the entities and DLNR to make it right, but they repeatedly put out that there was no one down there enforcing, and when there’s a complaint, more often than not, no one shows up,” Eversole said.

Eliminating geographical inconsistencies will be another factor determining future success, he said.

“This is just one small area,” Eversole said. “If you go outside of its boundaries, it’s a free-for-all in some places. The bottom line is there is just not enough beach space in Waikiki.”

The beach is much wider at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort side where Waikiki Beach Activities operates, but the company’s vice president, Mike Murray, said checks and balances still are needed to allow more residents and tourists to enjoy Waikiki’s beaches.

“Presetting is like going to a public parking space and putting a cone out when the car isn’t there. Why would you do that?” Murray said. “We comply with DLNR’s rules and think it’s totally a good thing.”

Eversole said he hopes to use DNLR’s assessment as a springboard to further decisions on the future of Waikiki’s shorelines. Beach widening could augment the solution, he said.

“We aren’t going to build big beaches like in California, but maybe we might want to widen it 20 feet,” Eversole said.

Limiting the overall number of beach sets that commercial vendors are allowed to rent could be another option, he said.

“Kaanapali Beach, Maui, had similar problems with presetting when I worked at DLNR. I helped develop a model for how many beach chairs could be put out and still have enough access for the public. In that case we agreed it should not be more than 50 percent of beach.”