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Honolulu’s regulations governing shore water events, such as surf contests, canoe regattas, triathlons, and swim races, are currently undergoing changes. On October 20, the city Department of Parks and Recreation will hold a public hearing at Kapolei Hale to gather community feedback on proposed new rules for events held along the coastline of the island, particularly at city parks.
These rules specifically impact Oahu’s surf season and the permits that are regularly issued to surfing event organizers with submission deadlines. The Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) has conducted various outreach efforts to develop rules that strike a balance between the public’s access to ocean recreation, the fair use of public resources for permitted events, and the ability of DPR to manage these events and resources, in collaboration with other government agencies.
These outreach efforts have included public surveys, meetings with event organizers, and input from the Shore Water Advisory Group and the Honolulu City Council. According to Nate Serota, spokesperson for DPR, the actual implementation of these new rules and regulations is uncertain at this time. However, they hope to have them in place well before the application period for the next triennial North Shore surf calendar period closes at the end of January 2024. The rules will require mayoral approval but not City Council approval, as discussions have already taken place with council members.
The proposed rules introduce several changes to the existing regulations, including modifying the application ranking process for North Shore and South Shore surfing events to consider equity for underrepresented groups, shifting the North Shore surf calendar to align with the surf season from September to May, implementing new regulations for South Shore surfing events with a cap on the total number of events, establishing a calendar for South Shore events from May to September (excluding youth sports), creating an after-event report requirement for North Shore and South Shore surfing events, and maintaining the current rule that prohibits holding a second surf event on the same day as the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational.
The city has been working on implementing rule changes for shore water activities at city parks, which are popular sites heavily frequented by beachgoers, for several years. In 2019, the city considered setting limits for surfing contests on the South Shore, similar to how limits were set for North Shore contests in the late 1990s. The changes for North Shore contests included limiting them to 16 per site and requiring them to start at 8 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. in order to allow local surfers to maintain access to surf spots while contests are underway.
The possibility of capping the total number of events on Oahu’s South Shore, particularly around Waikiki surf breaks, is currently under review. According to Serota, this was a major concern expressed by surfers regarding the proposed rule changes. In July 2021, the Shore Water Advisory Group (SWAG) was formed to facilitate revisions, public participation, and rule implementation for shore water events at city parks throughout Oahu. SWAG, which has since been dissolved, consisted of surf shop owner Keone Downing, community activist Kanani Oury, and Meghan Statts, who represented the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.
The rules being developed by SWAG were designed to work in conjunction with ocean permitting and usage guidelines facilitated by the state’s boating and ocean recreation division. SWAG held a total of six meetings, with the final meeting concluding in May 2022. Downing, one of the former SWAG members, emphasized the importance of greater public input in determining the use of public resources and suggested that voices from various impacted communities across the island should be heard. He also expressed the need for more meetings to address this critical issue, advocating for a wider range of times and locations for these discussions.
In terms of input from event organizers and the business sector regarding the proposed rule changes along the coastal areas of the island, Serota mentioned that the city did not want to comment on their behalf. However, both event organizers and members of the public and surf community appreciated being included in the process.
The public hearing for these rule changes will be held on October 20 from 2 to 4 p.m. at 1000 Uluohia St., Suite 312, in Kapolei. A virtual meeting will also be conducted via Zoom, and the link to access it is provided here: bit.ly/shorewaterhearing. For more information about the public hearing, please contact DPR at 808-768-3003.
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