‘We don’t mean to be a burden,’ homeless say

Under a tent that shielded them from the midday sun heating the Kohou Street sidewalk situated next to Kapa­lama Canal, Osias Kamelo and Kale C. chatted while sitting on small wooden stools and used a three-fold futon as a table.

"We don’t mean to be a burden or an eyesore," said Kale C., a 35-year-old Wai­ma­nalo native who moved into the area about seven months ago. "I don’t want to be here forever."

Homeless campers could soon be ushered out of the area if the Hono­lulu City Council passes and the mayor signs a bill to expand the reach of Oahu’s "sit-lie" ordinance.

The City Council on Wednesday is expected to give final approval to Bill 6, which includes the two sides of Kapa­lama Canal and other areas under restrictions of the sit-lie ordinance. Specifically, the expansion would also include both sides of the street of all existing sit-lie boundaries, as well portions of McCully and the Aala-Kukui area mauka of North Bere­ta­nia Street.

The Kapalama encampment sits primarily along the Kohou Street side of the canal, a strip between North King Street and Dillingham Boulevard that’s about one-third of a mile long.

The number of tents has increased dramatically on the Kapa­lama strip over the last year and especially in recent months. Kale C. estimated Tuesday that there are now about 100 tents along the strip, roughly triple the amount there in December. Many say the growth is the direct result of the sit-lie ordinance being enforced in Chinatown, Wai­kiki and elsewhere, forcing many of the homeless to relocate.

Kamelo, 62, lived in the Nimitz area under the H-1 freeway viaduct before moving to Kapa­lama about four to five months ago. He likes that the Kohou Street encampment is close to stores and eateries, and provides a convenient spot for motorists who want to help. "People just come and drop off food … toiletries … clothes," he said.

The tents are confined to the area between King Street and Dillingham Boulevard because Hono­lulu Police Department officers have largely left the homeless alone there, Kale C. said. In response to movement beyond those boundaries, he said, police "harass us … to contain us so we don’t spread out." 

That doesn’t include twice-a-month sweeps where city crews come by and remove property along the strip under the city’s stored property and sidewalk nuisance ordinances, Kale C. said.

City attorneys have warned Council members that the bill, as proposed, might not withstand a constitutional challenge. While vague as to how, the Department of Corporation Counsel has stated that sit-lie laws must show that the public’s access to businesses has been impeded by the presence of sidewalk campers.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell introduced the first sit-lie bill, which prohibits sitting and lying 24 hours a day in the bustling Wai­kiki district. The mayor, however, was reluctant to sign Bill 48 (2014), expanding the ban to include 15 business districts across the island from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m daily, until city attorneys worked with Council members and their staffs to hone down the areas until they felt they met constitutional muster.

Councilman Joey Mana­han, who represents Kalihi, said that including the Kapa­lama strip in the sit-lie ordinance is among several things being done to discourage the homeless from camping along the canal.

He placed $150,000 into next year’s budget to install fencing along the strip. If approved, the fence could be up by late summer, he said. Even if the Kapa­lama area is not included in the sit-lie ban, the fencing will allow the city Department of Facility Maintenance to move the campers via the stored property ordinance, he said. "We consider this to be a median strip, an island, and a traffic-calming device," he said.

He said the area needs to be improved because a rail transit station is planned for a spot nearby at Dillingham Boulevard and Kokea Street, next to Hono­lulu Community College. About $20 million in improvements are planned in fiscal 2017, Mana­han said.

A number of Kohou Street tenants and landowners have complained to Mana­han about how their businesses have been adversely affected by the influx of homeless, so he is confident that a sit-lie ban along the canal would pass constitutional muster.

Shirley Hilton’s Kahala Floors business moved into its Kohou Street headquarters, across the street from the encampment, about seven years ago.

The increase in the homeless population has had a clear impact on her business, she said. When a monthly seminar coincided with a paving of her company’s private lot, forcing attendees to park on the street near the homeless encampment, some told her they would attend the following month, Hilton said. "Not everyone is so bothered by it, but it drove home the fact that it does bother a lot of folks," she said.

Campers don’t always hang out in front of her shop during the day, but "they do often block my front door when they think we’re closed and we’re not."

Knowing some potential customers may be hesitant to visit her shop, she’s changed the way she does business. "What I’ve resorted to doing is going out to see my customers first and then have them go visit the showroom," she said.

While Bill 6 is designed to help businesses like hers, Hilton has mixed feelings about it. "We really are just sweeping things under the rug," she said. "They’re just going to go to the next area. This is why we got them."