DLNR weak on beach camping

The need for a coordinated federal, state and city response to pressing community issues is starkly illustrated in Waikiki, where homeless people have moved to a swath of beach reportedly outside the jurisdiction of the Honolulu Police Department.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources must respond swiftly to calls to enforce no-camping rules at Fort DeRussy Beach, the stretch of sand that runs from the Hale Koa Hotel to the jetty by the Outrigger Reef on the Beach hotel.

Honolulu police routinely move homeless campers from city-managed Waikiki beaches after closing hours, but have resisted enforcement along the stretch of beach makai of Fort DeRussy, which city officials say falls under state jurisdiction. Fort DeRussy itself is under the Army’s control, but the jurisdiction of military police reportedly ends at the sidewalk.

The exodus from city-controlled areas has accelerated with the recent passage of a sit-lie ban for Waikiki sidewalks. HPD confirms that a rising number of homeless people are living on Fort DeRussy Beach. Posting signs prohibiting camping at Fort DeRussy Beach might be all HPD needs to begin enforcement, and those signs should be installed immediately.

For the long term, though, what’s needed is for state and city agencies, especially, to get on the same page regarding enforcement of city ordinances designed to clean up Waikiki and to encourage homeless individuals to seek and accept help that is available from nonprofit and other social-service agencies.

Elected officials, advocates for the homeless and Waikiki residents have raised questions about this jurisdictional loophole for months, noting that it would make it difficult to properly enforce the city’s new sit-lie law. Yet as late as last week, DLNR was unprepared to publicly discuss the issue.

The state agency has its own enforcement division, with full police powers, tasked with enforcing state and county laws within its jurisdiction. The agency must step up, with more information, and with enforcement that supports the city’s broader goals.

The stakes in Waikiki are high, and have been well documented. The risk is not only to the tourism industry, but to the continued safe, broad public access of priceless community assets — Hawaii’s parks and beaches.

Not far from Waikiki, there’s an example of what can happen when the government fails to address petty problems that proliferate into serious concerns. The Episcopal Church is poised to take control of Queen Emma Square Park and the road that loops around it; the park borders St. Andrew’s Cathedral and the St. Andrew’s Schools on Queen Emma Street.

Rising security concerns — 88 incidents were logged in 18 months, mostly for trespassing — prompted the church to seek a long-term lease from the state to control the park and to buy the road from the city. The church pledges to take good care of the green space, and to allow public access during daytime hours.

We’re optimistic that will occur, and can’t dispute the safety concerns. Still, it’s a shame that a park given for public use by King Kamehameha IV in 1858 was not maintained well enough by the government to remain fully in the public domain.

That’s what happens, though, when the government and the community take shared assets for granted. We can’t let it happen in Waikiki. The city is making headway in reclaiming public spaces there, and state agencies, including DLNR, must assist in that effort.