Unmetered public parking at the Ala Wai Boat Harbor will remain free for the time being after opponents turned up in droves to ask the Board of Land and Natural Resources to reject a rule change that would lead to parking fees at small-boat harbors across the state.

The board yesterday ordered more public hearings before settling on a parking management plan.

Currently more than half of the 1,000 parking spaces at the Waikiki harbor are free for recreational users, but the state wants to start charging for most of the parking at Ala Wai and some of the other high-use small-boat harbors across the state.

By 9 a.m., more than 100 people showed up to protest the parking rule change, and dozens remained to testify and wait for the board's decision, which came more than seven hours later.

Melissa Ling-Ing, of Common Ground, a proponent of beach access, said increasing parking would mean denying those who can't afford $1.50 an hour to park couldn't go to the beach. "We shouldn't have to pay to go to the beach," she said.

She said if the state started charging for parking at the harbor, surfers would probably use the free parking at Magic Island instead, then paddle across the busy channel "which is illegal and very dangerous," she said. "If there's big surf, forget it."

The Board of Land and Natural Resources could impose parking fees in the future, but board members said they want to hold more public hearings before taking the step.

The board also approved a substantial increase in the cost of parking permits for boat slip renters. The fee will be increased from $20 a year to $25 a month. In addition, the department will be able to change the default public parking limit from 72 hours to 24 hours, unless signs are posted authorizing parking for longer periods.

Part of the problem, according to Ed Underwood, administrator of the Division of Boating and Aquatic Recreation, is that people not using the beach or ocean leave their cars at the harbor while they're at work.

Underwood said he wanted to make sure there was still parking for people who wanted to get to the beach, but pointed out, "This is a harbor and this is there for the boaters."

The harbors do not get tax dollars for maintenance, and BLNR Chairwoman Laura Thielen said the small-boat harbors have $300 million in backlogged repairs. While the harbors were given $10 million in bond money last year and have requested another $10 million this year, "Clearly it is not sufficient to cover all the capital improvements and repair and maintenance costs," Thielen said, explaining part of the rationale for collecting fees from parking.

Although the department proposal included keeping 130 spaces on the Ala Wai helipad free for beachgoers, the beachgoers noted repeatedly that they weren't gaining 130 free spaces, they were losing 500 — in a part of O'ahu where free parking spaces are hard to come by.

Maceo Fulks, 23, said he usually spends five to six hours at a time at the beach, where he surfs, fishes and crabs. If he had to pay to park at the Ala Wai Boat Harbor, he suspects parking could cost him up to $200 a month.

Malia Kaleopaa, 22, said she goes to Queen's Beach every day and usually hunts for free street parking. Besides the harbor, she noted there's also free parking at the Waikiki Shell, but added it's a long haul to the water, especially for families who are carrying multiple surfboards.

Duke Morgan, 21, said the beach is where he goes to get away, but he can't afford to pay for the escape. "I'm a student. I don't have have extra money to pay for parking," he said.

Jimmy Anderson, who parks at the harbor every Sunday while his family goes to the beach, told the board that it cost him $11 to park in a metered stall while he waited to testify, which is comparable to what he'd pay for a day at the beach.

"It's ridiculous," he said before the meeting. Rather than pay for harbor parking, "I'd go to another beach," he said.

Ling-Ing said she didn't know how the state could justify passing harbor maintenance fees on to those who just park there to get to the water. "We have a cold shower and a parking space when we go to the beach. I just don't see why we should have to fund the majority of the boating fund," she said.

Those protesting the increase in parking permit fees were smaller in number but just as passionate considering the hefty hike in their parking costs. Underwood said that harbor users were surveyed and 60 percent of those who participated said they wanted a parking management plan.

But slip holders said they weren't given enough information. "People have been complaining, but did they know their complaint was going to cost them $300 a year? If they had known that, they might not have complained so much. They might have been willing to walk a little farther," said boat owner Fred Madlener.

Janet Mandrell agreed. "I feel like it was a bait and switch. They ask you if you want a parking plan. They don't tell you it's going to cost $300 a year," she said.

But beachgoers and boaters all had a similar argument in the end: "We're already burdened with enough fees in Hawai'i. It seems unconscionable that the state wants to add another one," said Common Ground's Gary Ka'aihue.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.