The state Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation temporarily will issue revocable permits for two sites in the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor, which were intended to be developed by Honey Bee USA as part of a public-private partnership.

“DOBOR plans on doing a new request for proposals (RFP), but that is going to take some time,” said Deborah Ward, state Department of Land and Natural Resources spokeswoman. “In the meantime, the plan is to issue revocable permits for both sites so there is a presence while the RFP is being prepared.”

It could take up to five years to find a suitable partner to develop the site where Honey Bee demolished a fuel dock, as well as another site where the company demolished an old boat repair yard fronting Ala Moana Boulevard, said Harbor Master Kenneth Chee on Wednesday evening during a meeting with members of the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor community at the Hawaii Yacht Club.

“We want to draw (income) temporarily,” Chee said. “In the meantime, we will fence the entire site where the Hawaiian Dredging barricades are coming down.”

More than 30 citizens attended the meeting, which was the first gathering of the community since a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge ended Honey Bee’s floundering plan to put a retail, boating and wedding venue construction project on prime state-owned waterfront land.

Janet Mandrell, public liaison for the Makai Society, which is a recreational boating organization, said she wants the state to move swiftly on getting pop-up operations that could run for 30 days to two years with no commitment from the state.

“I think that would be good as long as they respect the harbor and are not just here to make money and throw trash in the water,” Mandrell said. “It’s been a long time since we had anything on these sites.”

Mandrell said the former boatyard site next to the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki could be used for parking lots for commercial buses and trailer-boat parking and storage. She said the site also could be used for fuel truck delivery for vessels, which have not had access to fuel in the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor for a few years.

The former Magic Island Petroleum fuel dock also could be wired for electricity and set up for plumbing to accommodate a convenience store or something similar, Mandrell added.

But nearby resident Bruce Lenkeit said he doesn’t want to see any redevelopment, even the temporary kind, without additional oversight of DOBOR and at least a second- or third-party review of any contracts that they plan to execute.

“They have demonstrated their failure to write a decent contract,” Lenkeit said. “DLNR and DOBOR pissed away years of income on the fuel dock property and the old boatyard property, which are very valuable sites. They made a fool of themselves with that attorney Keith Kiuchi, who was running Honey Bee. As much as I dislike privatization, DLNR and DOBOR have a track record of failure.”

Lenkeit pointed out that it took a decision from Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris for the state to become free of its struggles managing its partnership with Kiuchi, which dates back to 2009. Earlier this month, Faris ruled that Kiuchi had been given enough chances to secure financing for his $24 million project since his company’s November bankruptcy filing.

Kiuchi has since surrendered the property to the state, leaving a wake of creditors who won’t be able to recoup their $5.3 million in debts. About $1 million of this debt was owed to the DLNR for unpaid rent and fees.