The city will begin charging people for camping permits at its 17 Oahu campgrounds March 1, the administration of Mayor Kirk Caldwell confirmed Friday.
A bill establishing camping permit fees for the first time was approved by the Honolulu City Council and allowed to become law by former Mayor Peter Carlisle in June 2011. But the fees did not kick in because the city Department of Parks and Recreation implemented an online camping permit reservation system without fee collection capability and needed to change its camping rules before fees could be charged.
A Waianae Coast homeless advocate said she’s concerned that the new fees, as well as the online permit reservation system, will force more people to areas not designated for camping.
Under the new rules to be instituted, campers will be charged $32 for camping sites for which the city offers three-day permits and $52 for those sites that require five-day permits. The city is estimating the fees will generate $180,000 annually based on 50 percent occupancy of 225 total campsites, Caldwell said in a statement.
"My hope is that by charging a nominal fee, more Oahu families will have an opportunity to camp at our city parks," Caldwell said. "We could use these revenues to hire more enforcement officers and improve facilities and park maintenance, so even more local families would want to take advantage of our beautiful city parks, which I believe are the crown jewels of this island."
An audit of the city’s camping permit system released in October criticized the Carlisle administration for failing to implement the permit fees. "As a result, the city has forgone over $366,000 in estimated annual income," auditor Edwin Young said in his cover letter to the Council.
The report further said failure to implement the system delayed increases in security and camping facility improvements.
The state has long charged for camping at its camping sites. Hawaii residents must pay $12 per campsite per night for up to six people, and then $2 more for each additional person up to a maximum fee of $20 a night, according to the state’s camping website. Nonresidents are assessed $18 per campsite for up to six people, and $3 more for each additional person up to a maximum fee of $30 a night.
Sophina Placencia, executive director of the nonprofit Waianae Community Outreach, said she’s worried the new fee will result in more homeless people finding their way to illegal camping grounds.
The change to online reservations and permits has already put homeless families and individuals at a disadvantage, Placencia said. Because most do not have access to computers or the Internet, they cannot make reservations when permits are first issued online at 5 p.m. two weeks before a camping period begins, she said.
The city instituted an online permitting system last year after being criticized for failing to respond to the steadily growing throngs of camping-permit seekers who had been waiting in line for popular holiday weekend periods. Some camping enthusiasts began camping in front of permit sites themselves as early as four days in advance to reserve the sites they wanted. After the online permitting process was implemented, city officials reported that permits for the Labor Day weekend were grabbed within five minutes of being available online.
Instituting what amounts to a $10-a-day fee could price out even more homeless from obtaining city camping permits at Keaau, Maili, Nanakuli and other city-run camping sites, Placencia said.
She said she understands why the city wants to enforce the fees now, noting she was informed of the administration’s decision Wednesday. "I know the Department of Parks and Recreation definitely needs to upkeep its facilities," she said.
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PAY TO SLEEP UNDER THE STARS
Beginning March 1, the city will implement fees to stay at city campgrounds such as Bellows Beach, Nanakuli Beach Park and Hoomaluhia Botanical Gardens.
>> The fees: $32 for a three-day permit, $52 for a five-day permit, for up to 10 people per campsite
>> City campgrounds:17
>> City campsites: 225
>> By comparison, residents already pay a $12-per-night fee to camp at state parks such as Malaekahana and Sand Island on Oahu, Waianapanapa on Maui and Kokee on Kauai.
Source: Honolulu Parks Department; state Parks Division
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But homeless shelters on the Waianae Coast are starting to fill up, and other camping areas are also growing more crowded.
Many have tried to comply with state and city laws, but the new rules for obtaining permits will make it increasingly more difficult for them to do so, Placencia said.
"There are a lot of our homeless clients who are trying to go about it the legal way, but this now further prevents them from doing that," she said. "This will even more deter a lot of our homeless clients from even thinking about getting camping permits because they now can’t even afford it."
A late January "point-in-time" count by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development showed there are approximately 400 unsheltered homeless people along the coast from Makaha to White Plains Beach, she said, about half of whom are now calling a relatively remote area of the Waianae Boat Harbor home.
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On the Net:
» For information about city camping permits, go to camping.honolulu.gov.
