The Marine Corps said yesterday it is temporarily closing weekend public beach access at Bellows Air Force Station to curtail illegal activities, but residents contend the military is trying to push locals out permanently.

The public has been allowed access to the area on weekends for more than 20 years, first by the Air Force and now by the Marines.

The area will be closed all weekends in June while the Marines seek ways to better prevent activities such as drug use, fights, large campfires, trash dumping, off-roading on the beach, alcohol use and vehicle break-ins.

The goal is to have the camp and beach open again for the July 4 weekend, the Marines said in a news release.

The decision was first announced at a hastily called community meeting Friday because of events on the previous Monday, Memorial Day, at the Marine Corps Training Area, Bellows.

Wilson Ho, Waimanalo Neighborhood Board chairman, who was invited to the meeting with Marine Corps Base Commander Col. Robert Rice along with city, state and federal representatives, said the Marines demanded immediate action, including around-the-clock police presence.

"They want zero tolerance," Ho said, adding that the decision was more like martial law, where demands were presented then the attendees were dismissed.

In their news release confirming the decision, the Marines said the training area "will remain closed to all visitors throughout the month of June due to persistent unsafe and environmentally destructive activities on the beach and in the camping area."

Ho said the Marines talked about infractions that involved less than 1 percent of the people who were at Bellows on Memorial Day, yet they want to punish everyone.

This was the first he's heard of any increase in problems at Bellows, he said, adding that the Marines attend every neighborhood board meeting and have never brought up the problem.

POPULAR CAMPING BEACH

Bellows is the most popular camping beach on the island and typically the city grants permits weeks in advance.

The 1,049-acre training site is owned by the Marines, who use it for military exercises during the week but open portions of it to public camping and beach access on weekends.

Joe Ryan, a Waimanalo resident, said the June closure is a sham and really had to do with reducing traffic impact at the base, where 48 new cabins are being proposed.

The Waimanalo neighborhood board is objecting to the new cabins because they will add to bumper-to-bumper traffic in the town every weekend.

A recently released draft environmental assessment for the cabins revealed that future projects at the base include a water park and 18-hole golf course. The neighborhood board also recently learned that the base wants to widen the bridge across the stream that could accommodate heavy building equipment.

Closing the base to campers and beach users reduces the number of automobiles in the area and opens the door for future expansion because traffic impact won't be an issue, Ryan said.

But a letter inviting city, state and federal officials to the meeting on Memorial Day weekend said crime was the issue. A federal officer arrested a suspect who allegedly had approximately 16 grams of marijuana and stopped four people for allegedly dumping construction debris in a stream, said Christopher E. Blanchard, chief of staff at Marine Corps Base, Hawaii.

Criminal behavior has increased, causing concern for Commander Rice, Blanchard wrote in a May 27 e-mail.

The camping area has been licensed to the city for recreational camping on weekends since 2004, Blanchard said.

"It is clear that the commander does not intend to renew that agreement if corrective action is not taken," he said.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann met with members of his staff about the issue yesterday morning, said Bill Brennan, city spokesman.

"(Hannemann) expressed a willingness to meet himself with a representative from the Marines to better understand their concerns," Brennan said in an e-mail. "Mayor Hannemann believes, however, it would be unnecessary and a mistake for the Marines to close Bellows to the public, as the city is already working to improve conditions at the park."

Brennan said police statistics show no increase in crime in the Bellows area over last year. In 2008 the Honolulu Police Department handled 163 cases, of which 125 occurred on weekends. From Jan. 1 to May 28, 2009, HPD had 70 cases, of which 57 occurred on weekends.

LAWMAKERS' REACTIONS

Some residents said they suspect recent statements calling for the return of the base to Native Hawaiians have brought about this decision.

"We've been squawking about the land issues, land access and land rights," said Andrew Jamila Jr., a Waimanalo Neighborhood Board member who was at the Friday meeting. "We've been complaining. We don't have access, now this. It all coincides with what we've been arguing about."

Representatives from Hawai'i's Congressional delegation were at the meeting, along with state Rep. Chris Lee, D-51st (Lanikai, Waimanalo).

Lee said neither the city nor the Marines wanted to shut down the base, but safety concerns have led to this temporary solution.

"What the miliary really wants is to have the base open to the public as it has been, but at the end of the day make sure that the city promotes some sort of supervision," Lee said.

Congresswoman Mazie Hirono said she discussed the temporary closure with Rice and supports it.

"Bellows is a popular recreational spot and the 4th of July weekend is quickly approaching," Hirono said. "We are all working toward the common goals of further protecting the pristine 'aina, while also keeping the beach area safe for all of its visitors."