Why does Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann insist that the issue of homelessness is not the city's responsibility?

When Hannemann announced this week that the city was ready to pump $1.35 million to improve Leeward parks and beaches, there was nary a mention of the heaviest current users of those facilities — the homeless. Once the cleanup starts in September, what will happen to the hundreds of people now living at the beach parks at Ma'ili, Nanakuli and Kea'au?

The mayor didn't say he had a plan for the homeless, implying heavily that it just isn't his kuleana.

But it most certainly is, as it is for all of us.

Legislation passed this year mandates that counties designate "safe zones" for temporary housing for the homeless. The legislators even gave Honolulu $2 million to address the issue. Once the park cleanup begins, surely the need for such zones will only increase.

That makes it possible we could see a repeat of this year's Ala Moana Beach Park fiasco. You'll recall that's when the city shut down the park for renovation during the rainy season without making any plans for some 200 displaced homeless people. It was an unnecessary act that forced the state, homeless advocates and city churches scrambling to find temporary shelters.

Hannemann's announcement to clean up the Leeward parks and beaches should have been accompanied by some gesture that showed he learned a lesson from the Ala Moana example.

But instead, the mayor seems to be preparing for a sequel, "Ala Moana II."

Only this time, cleanup of Wai'anae beaches and parks could displace many hundreds more homeless.

City spokesman Bill Brennan said city officials are in the talking stages about some kind of plan for the Wai'anae homeless come September. But at this point it appears the city is content to let the state lead the way.

Fortunately, Gov. Linda Lingle has been more than meeting the leadership test in recent months. She's signed important legislation into law that funds the fight against homelessness. She's opened up a temporary shelter in Kaka'ako. And she's taken the first steps in Wai'anae with last night's scheduled community meeting.

But we'd all be much closer to a solution for the homeless if the city played a much more active role.

And why not? There's plenty of work to go around on this issue.