Sidewalk bill would also apply to mobile kiosk vendors

The debate over a bill that bars people from obstructing public sidewalks has focused largely on what it means for the homeless who camp there.

But Bill 51, which will likely be up for a final City Council vote on Oct. 3, could also have a major impact on those who conduct business along the sidewalks, particularly those in Waikiki and other areas with a lot of pedestrian traffic.

Merchants who work out of mobile kiosks have drawn the ire of area residents and owners of brick-and-mortar businesses.

The Waikiki Improvement Association and the Waikiki Neighborhood Board support closing a loophole in city law that allows those using wheeled kiosks to promote their goods and services rent free, often in front stores where traditional retailers pay premium rents.

City Corporation Counsel Donna Leong assured members of the City Council’sPublic Works, Infrastructure and Sustainability Committee on Wednesday that the obstruction bill would apply to mobile kiosks as well as the homeless.

Earlier this year, Councilman Trevor Ozawa, who represents Waikiki, introduced Bill 6, which also bars mobile kiosks in Waikiki.

There was ample support Wednesday for Bill 51, which was authored by the Caldwell administration.

“We appreciate the city’s and the City Council’s efforts to ensure that our sidewalks are used for the purpose by which they are intended, and that is for access and mobility,” said Rick Egged, Waikiki Improvement Association president. “They are not meant for commercial activities, they’re not meant for lodging. Other facilities need to be made available for those kinds of activities.”

The association estimates between 12 to 15 mobile kiosks set up shop on Waikiki sidewalks each day.

Waikiki resident Dave Moskowitz said the sidewalks in Hawaii’s premiere visitor destination “have been crazy busy, it’s like Manhattan now.” There are booths marketing time sharing units and people with signs pushing taxis, he said.

Rob Johnson, general manager of the Ilikai Association of Apartment Owners, said he knows the existing law in and out because there’s a vendor on the sidewalk in front of his building every day.

A rule governing vendors says they cannot take up more than a 36-inch-wide strip of sidewalk space. The vendor in front of the Ilikai takes advantage of that rule, Johnson said. The sidewalk along Ala Moana Boulevard fronting the Ilikai is between 60 and 72 inches. If a mobile kiosk takes up 36 inches, it does not leave much space for those wishing to move through the area, he said. There’s also between 6 to 8 feet of green space between the sidewalk and the curb where the vendor may go.

At Johnson’s urging, the committee removed language that would have continued to allow the 36-inch rule that had been left in the bill unintentionally.

Leong told committee members that under the bill it wouldn’t matter how much of the sidewalk a vendor obstructs.

Bill 51 as well as Bill 52, which bars lodging on sidewalks and other public places, both won 4-1 approvals from the committee Wednesday. Members Ann Kobayashi, Joey Manahan and Ozawa joined committee Chairwoman Carol Fukunaga in supporting the measures. Councilman Brandon Elefante was the lone no vote.

Opponents of the two bills said they are simply the latest of a string of measures adopted by the city that criminalize the act of being homeless when many have no other recourse.