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Just when it seems like all of Waikiki has been taken over by commercial tourism, there is hope for residents looking for space to sunbathe and picnic on the famous beach.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources announced Friday that its Division of Boating and Ocean Resources (DOBOR) has sent legal notices to four hotels and five commerical vendors to tell them to immediately stop presetting commercial equipment on Waikiki Beach.

“Presetting” means putting out lines of chairs and umbrellas in the sand even when the equipment has not yet been rented, reducing the amount of beachfront available to the public.

It is a sneaky way of telling the nonpaying public trying to relax on Waikiki Beach with its own recreational equipment to “keep out,” this space is not for your use.

DLNR put the following vendors on notice: Waikiki Beachboys at the Sheraton Waikiki LLC., Waikiki Beach Services at the Royal LLC, Aqualani, Faith Hawaii Surf School LLC and Aloha Beach Services.

They operate in front of the Royal Hawaiian, Moana Surfrider, Outrigger Waikiki and the Sheraton Waikiki Beach Resort hotels, which also received cease and desist letters.

DLNR mailed the letters and also visited the offenders in person to warn them that unless they stop they could face administrative fines starting at $5,000 for a first offense and soaring to $15,000 for the third and subsequent offenses.

In addition, if they keep violating the law, they could have their commercial permits revoked and be unable to apply for commercial permits in the future.

“Hey this is pretty damned serious,” said Doug Meller, who has been crusading for the change for more than a decade. “I am happy and amazed. It has been a long path to get the law passed and to get DLNR to actually use it.”

Meller said has been trying since 2013 to stop the presetting in a personal  campaign; sending  letters of complaint and photos of offenders to state officials and testifying in support of legislation crafted to stop the practice.

He is a retired planner formerly with the state Transportation’s Department’s Highways Division. He grew up in Honolulu and has been swimming at Waikiki since he was a child.

Meller said he became dismayed watching the amount of presetting increase year after year with nobody seeming to care about it.

DLNR told the vendors and hotels they were violating enacted in July 2023 that clearly states beach chairs and other equipment can be placed on the sand only when a person or group of people is physically present for the immediate use of the equipment.

The law also stipulates that equipment must be removed from the beach immediately after the customer has finished using it.

This includes beach chairs, umbrellas, surfboards, paddleboards and kayaks.

Now a renter must actually be present before the equipment can be physically set on the sand.

Brett Greenberg, manager of Aqualani, said the company got the cease and desist letter from DLNR on Thursday.

“We will abide by the agreement they gave us,” he said. “We are moving forward with the mandate.”

Aloha Beach Services owner Didi Robello, who also received a letter, called the order unfair.

“I donʻt preset chairs,” he said. “Just because someone is not sitting in the chair does not mean they are not using it. Our customers often leave to do other things while they are renting the chairs such as go to breakfast or on a catamaran ride. The law needs to be amended.”

The law applies to Oahu and Maui beaches under state jurisdiction including private beaches in which the state has an easement or other property interest. DLNR can also enforce violations by concessionaires presetting on beaches fronting county parks such as Waikiki’s Kuhio Beach.

State Rep. Linda Ichiyama said the measure for now is limited to Oahu and Maui beaches to give lawmakers time to see how well it works and that perhaps in the future it will be extended to Hawaii island and Kauai beaches.

DLNR Director Dawn Chang testified in favor of in March 2023, saying it had been difficult to enforce past laws because the department lacked a clear definition of what constituted presetting.

She wrote in her testimony that the department’s enforcement officers had issued citations to offenders, but courts dismissed the citations when the vendors claimed they were setting chairs and umbrellas for customers with prior reservations.

But that won’t hack it under the new law. Now a renter must actually be present before the equipment can be physically set on the sand.

DLNR said it began to notify hotels and the concessionaires more than a year ago right after the law went into effect,

But the agency says despite numerous site visits by its staff members, the vendors continued to preset beach equipment.

“During the latest visit, (July 10)  rows upon rows of chairs were photographed and videotaped after being set up in the morning on lands under the management of DLNR specific to the area of Waikiki Beach, fronting the Moana Surfrider Hotel, the Outrigger Waikiki Hotel, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and the Sheraton Waikiki Beach Resort,” the news release said.

On my visits to Waikiki, I photographed those same companies in front of the hotels presetting lines of chairs, but on my most recent visit Saturday the vendors appeared to be following the law by placing chairs and umbrellas on the sand only when a customer was standing there ready to rent.

Meller was pleased that the vendors and hotels were put on notice.

“Without using a lot of public resources, DLNR is getting the job done. This is good,” he said.