As the state Department of Land and Natural Resources continues to pursue plans for a new marina along a stretch of Sand Island Beach, canoe paddlers and other ocean users gathered Wednesday to voice their opposition to a plan they say will restrict access to one of the few open-water recreation areas on the south side and disrupt the peaceful balance negotiated over years of shared usage.

"We understand that the state needs to make money and DLNR is going to do what it’s going to do," said Gilbert Silva of the Keahiakahoe Canoe Club. "At the same time, safety is a big issue for us, and so is preserving the beauty and culture of this place. So we’re also going to do what we have to do. And if we have to go to the state Capitol with 10,000 paddlers, we’ll do it."

A proposal for a $35 million Sand Island Ocean Recreational Park, which would include a 350-to-400-slip marina, was proffered last September as a private-public partnership that would address the ongoing demand for marina space.

The site of the proposed marina overlaps an area currently used as a BMX bike track and is directly adjacent to a stretch of beach used as a practice area for five canoe clubs. Farther down the beach is an area typically used for water-skiing and other ocean recreation.

Silva and other paddling club representatives invited lawmakers and DLNR representatives to view the area and witness the amount of activity that goes on within its ocean limits.

"There is a balance that exists here between everybody who uses this beach," said Bill Plum of the Oahu Waterski Club. "If a portion of the beach is taken away, it will force users to other areas or restrict access to existing users. Nobody blames the state, but the driving issue here is money. It’s a tough call."

DLNR boating engineer Eric Yuasa said the project would not alleviate the deficit at which the DLNR currently operates — the Parks Division staffing level at Sand Island already has been cut in half, he said — but it would allow the department to address a long-standing need without an ongoing funding commitment.

According to Yuasa, building the recreational park without a marina would cost $20 million, all at taxpayer expense. However, partnering with a private developer would allow the state to build the park — which would include an expanded boat launch, new canoe pavilions, a canoe-kayak center, boat storage and repair facilities and an ocean activity center — and the marina at a shared expense of $35 million, with the private developer assuming administrative control of the marina.

Yuasa said the marina could generate as much as $2.5 million per year, enough to maintain the private marina and other public park facilities.

At Wednesday’s gathering, state Sen. Suzanne Chun-Oakland said other revenue-generating uses for the area could be explored and invited the assembled audience, many of whom already participate on a community sounding board, to help identify alternatives to a new marina.

The paddlers said they were willing to continue working with the state to find an agreeable solution but warned that their stance on a new marina was non-negotiable.

"We hope that what we have to say will make a difference," said Pua Paiaina, vice president of the Healani Canoe Club. "This is the last stretch of beach like this on Oahu and we’re going to fight to protect it."