Law OKs access to beach at night through city parks

A bill making it easier for people to get to the shoreline by walking through closed city parks at night was signed into law by Mayor Kirk Caldwell last week despite concerns raised by state law enforcement officers who worry that the measure may promote illegal activity.

City Councilman Ikaika Anderson said he introduced Bill 8 (2013) largely in response to concerns raised by fishing enthusiasts about their access to the shoreline during park closure hours. Additionally, some residents walking leashed dogs were cited for park closure violations, he said.

Supporters of the new law note that, at the request of city Parks Director Toni Robinson and city attorneys, language in the measure states specifically a person walking through a closed park on the way to the shoreline must use the most direct route and is not allowed to meander.

During a Parks Committee hearing, Deputy Corporation Counsel Dawn Spurlin said anyone wishing to access the shoreline has a constitutional right to do so and that Honolulu police allow it.

But William Aila, director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, in written testimony to the City Council just before Bill 8’s final vote on April 17, expressed concerns about unintended consequences caused by "broad language" in the bill.

"The language in the bill as currently written would allow anyone to enter and traverse a closed city park to reach a shoreline that may be managed by the department," Aila said. "The department believes that the bill would provide a means for individuals to easily access and occupy unencumbered state lands, which may promote illegal activities such as camping without a permit as well as other prohibited activities that are contrary to Hawaii Administrative Rules."

The new law would allow people stopped by a law enforcement officer to simply state they were headed to or from the shoreline even if they were not, Aila said.

He suggested that the city consider issuing fishing permits to late-night fishing enthusiasts.

Guy Chang, chief of DLNR’s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement Oahu branch, testified at the hearing that "the less fortunate" have been gathering at night on unencumbered shoreline lands that fall within the division’s jurisdiction and pitching tents or other structures.

"Our concern is when police officers close the parks, they’re back on unencumbered lands and we’ve got to go down there now and try to get them out," he said. "So it’s kind of like a cat-and-mouse game that’s going on there now."

Unencumbered lands, usually undeveloped, are those that are not set aside for a specific purpose, as in under a lease or easement.

Chang urged Council members to rethink the bill.

"This is going to affect the Honolulu Police Department, the Department of Land and Natural Resources enforcement division and everybody else who is going to have to conduct law enforcement through public safety in these areas," he said.

Closing the parks at night "gives law enforcement the advantage" in combating illegal activity, Chang said. The law would require officers to "do selective enforcement" and determine if people in park lands at night are there legitimately or not.

Chang said the Leeward Coast, Mokuleia and Windward regions are of particular concern.

Council members hearing of the DLNR opposition grilled Chang about the agency’s silence during earlier meetings on the bill.

Chang apologized, stating it took time for enforcement officers to discuss their concerns about the bill among themselves and then contact Aila’s office about them.

Anderson noted that many state-operated beach parks are open 24 hours a day and that state law enforcement officers already must deal with illegal activity at those facilities.

"So what impact would this particular bill have on activities that are already illegal?"

Anderson suggested that any problems the division is experiencing with enforcement along the shoreline be dealt with by the state administration and state Legislature.

Council members Ron Menor and Kymberly Pine voted to support the bill with reservations, stating that they empathized with the concerns raised by Chang and Aila. They said they want the Council’s Parks Committee to look at separate legislation that would address those issues.

The bill contains "broad language that could create a loophole that could create enforcement problems and possibly promote illegal activity at public beach parks that are currently closed in various parts of the island," Menor said.

HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu said Friday afternoon that the department does not expect any problems with the new bill.

"Officers will have discretion in those types of situations but generally speaking, if the person takes the direction of the shoreline, it shouldn’t pose any problem," she said.

Caldwell said on Friday that fishing enthusiasts expressed legitimate reasons why the new law is needed.

"People do have legitimate reasons for wanting to traverse parks at night to get to the shoreline — mainly to fish," the mayor said. "The fishing can be very good at night, particularly in our rural areas where our more rural parks are like Waianae and Nanakuli, Haleiwa, North Shore and down at Waimanalo, too."

Like Anderson, Caldwell said the DLNR’s concerns are a separate issue that can be addressed at the state level.

"The issue of allowing residents of this island to cross city parks to get to their favorite fishing spots in and of itself has value," he said.