Tents on the mauka side of the sidewalk

HONOLULU -- City officials in Honolulu say they are aggressively working on a solution to the growing homeless population in Waikiki.At Kapiolani Park near Queens Beach, the homeless are getting around a law aimed at keeping them out of the area. They get around the law by pitching their tents on the mauka side of the sidewalk, officials said.City officials said they need to resolve two issues before they can remove the homeless.The first is whether or not the strip of land where tents are pitched is part of the park. Camping is illegal in city parks.Also, the law says that structures are illegal on public sidewalks, but it's not clear if a tent qualifies as a structure."They know the loopholes in the law and they exploit them to the fullest, and unfortunately, to the detriment, I think, to the average family and the average resident here in our community," council member Charles Djou said.Djou said he will introduce legislation to include tents if the law does not clearly state that a tent is a structure. It could take three months to pass such legislation.