WAI'ANAE — The city plans a major beach park cleanup this summer on the Wai'anae Coast that could include two of the largest, most visible homeless tent encampments along a 16-mile stretch of beach dwellers between Nanakuli and Makaha.

Debbie Kim Morikawa, director of the Community Services Department, last week sent a memo to area service providers advising them that the Parks and Recreation Department's next cleanup effort is being timed with the opening of the state's second homeless shelter at Kalaeloa this summer.

"Although plans are still tentative, DPR is considering the following 2 beach parks for this next round of park improvements: Lualualei I (also known as 'Sewers') and Ulehawa II (also known as '7-elevens')," the memo said.

Those two beach locations have a combined estimated population of 175 to 250 people — mostly couples and singles, although there are a few families with children.

In October 2006, the state opened the $2.8 million Onelau'ena emergency transitional shelter in a renovated military building in Kalaeloa that could accommodate about 200 homeless individuals.

Initially, the state had expected to open a similar shelter near the same location in June of this year. And the city letter to service providers was sent with that time frame in mind.

However, Russ Saito, state comptroller and homeless solutions coordinator for the Wai'anae Coast, said last week that the opening date had been delayed because it took longer than expected to transfer title of the second Kalaeloa military building from the University of Hawai'i and the federal government back to the state.

"Just this week, we were able to finally give the go-ahead to start construction," Saito said, adding that the testing and design work on the building have been completed.

"The contractor anticipated about four months to do the work. So, we're talking sometime in late July or August — that time frame."

Morikawa said when she sent the memo she was unaware of the delay. However, she said there is no set date for the cleanup projects, and that exactly which parks would be involved is still being reviewed. She said there are no plans for police to move people off the beaches or to bring in city work crews until the second Kalaeloa shelter has opened.

By that time, Kahikolu 'Ohana Hale O Wai'anae — a private emergency, transitional and affordable rental project funded by the state and Office of Hawaiian Affairs — is expected to be open as well. Morikawa said that service providers would work with homeless beach people, as they have in the past, to help them either move off the beaches and into an emergency shelter, or to find accommodations with relatives or friends.

However, some homeless tent dwellers have said they have no one who will take them in. Others are reluctant to move into a shelter because of a variety of reasons, such as an unwillingness to abide by the strict rule structure, dogs aren't allowed, and some fear that their children will be taken from them.

Since October 2006, the city has displaced hundreds of coastal beach dwellers during park improvement projects at Nanakuli Beach Park, Ma'ili Beach Park and, most recently, Nani Kai Beach Park and Surfers Beach.

The goal, the city has said, is to reclaim the beaches and parks for use by the general public. The efforts have been applauded by a number of residents tired of seeing beach parks on the coast transformed into tent cities.

But the situation has been exacerbated by the homeless crisis along the coast — the worst in the state — that has been fueled by rising rents and a declining number of available units, coupled with the area's high unemployment and low income rates. Since 2006, the state has committed about $30 million to building emergency and transitional homeless shelters in Leeward O'ahu.

The city has generally tried to time the park improvement projects with the openings or availability of area shelter facilities, so displaced homeless people would have a place to go. Police and parks personnel give beach dwellers 30 days' notice that the park will be closed throughout the cleanup period, which usually lasts about a week.

After crews have finished and the facilities are reopened, signs are posted stating that the parks will be closed to the public daily between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. — thus preventing the return of tent dwellers.