HONOLULU (AP) — The state Board of Land and Natural Resources has approved a three-year ban on alcohol at a sandbar off Oahu’s windward coast during three-day summer weekends.
The amendment to boating rules, approved Friday, bans alcohol, drugs and disorderly conduct at the Kaneohe sandbar on Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day weekend, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reported Saturday (http://bit.ly/Nbsi0N ).
The ban will be sent to the governor’s office for final approval.
The state has been moving to crack down on drinking and illegal drugs at the site after a fight on Memorial Day last year. The fight ended in the death of a 26-year-old man.
The state imposed a similar alcohol ban on an emergency basis last year after the death. Overcrowding at the sandbar dropped after the state issued a 120-day emergency ban, official said.
Opponents who testified at Friday’s hearing said the presence of law enforcement officers, not the emergency rule, reduced disorderly conduct at the sandbar. Instead of imposing a ban, they argued for more police presence.
Former Land Board Chairman Peter Young said that while he is in favor of a rule at the sandbar, he is concerned about the approach of the proposed amendment.
“People will go the bay, but other parts of the bay,” he said.
Young also said it may push boaters to anchor near coral reefs. “I don’t think it approaches a solution. It’ll just move them to another time and place,” he added.
In a separate action, the Land Board approved a proposal that requires all boat operators to complete a safety course to operate a power-driven vessel in state waters. The course would need approval from the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators.
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Information from: Honolulu Star-Advertiser, http://www.staradvertiser.com
