The possessions of those who set up tents or other property on Oahu sidewalks could be removed without warning soon, under a sidewalk-nuisance ordinance that Mayor Kirk Caldwell says will go into effect at the end of the month.

Rules on how to deal with challenges to seizures made under the new law had to be completed before enforcement could begin, and those rules were forwarded to the City Council this week.

"We’re aiming for the end of the month," Caldwell said Friday.

The new ordinance is expected to affect homeless people islandwide as well as the (de)Occupy Honolulu protest campers at Thomas Square.

"There’s not going to be any specific target, but we are going to use (the ordinance) whether it be at the entrance to Waikiki on Kalakaua, or Puowaina Park, or Iwilei, or Thomas Square, or Chinatown," Caldwell said. "There are places around this city and outside, too … where you have clusters of people occupying property. And where that occurs, we’re going to be using this bill."

City officials have been trying to keep Oahu sidewalks clear via its existing Stored Property Ordinance, which allows the removal of objects left on sidewalks and other city-owned areas if the items are tagged 24 hours in advance.

The new law would do away with the need for the 24-hour notice if the item meets the sidewalk-nuisance definition — "any object or collection of objects constructed, erected, installed, maintained, kept or operated on or over any sidewalk, including but not limited to stalls, stands, tents, furniture and containers, and of their contents or attachments."

Critics of the bill, including the American Civil Liberties Union-Hawaii chapter and (de)Occupy Honolulu, call the bill a clear attempt to remove the homeless. They’ve also argued that the bill violates free speech and protested the $200 fee to retrieve items seized.

Leaders of (de)Occupy Honolulu, which began its encampment in fall 2011, said seizures under the new ordinance would be unconstitutional.

"Bill 7 criminalizes houseless families, pushing them further into economic desperation with no recourse offered by the City & County, the state or the mayor’s office," the group said in an email.

Homeless people at the park who say they are not part of the (de)Occupy movement said they don’t like the new law.

Daniel Tote, 46, who has lived in and around Thomas Square for seven years with girlfriend Kuuipo Kealoha, said they will likely pick up their belongings and move somewhere less visible.

Tote said he also objects to the idea of paying $200 "to bail your stuff out."

"That’s pretty rough, man," he said.

Tote and Kealoha said they stay in the park until it closes at 10 p.m. and then move to the sidewalk, where they have several tents and a supermarket wagon.

Tote said authorities did not confront him before (de)Occupy Honolulu moved into the area. "They never did bother me," he said.