Surfing contests on Oahu's world-famous North Shore have become a tangle of conflicting interests.

The city Department of Parks and Recreation issues permits for each competition, but some contest promoters are complaining that the permits come too late to adequately set up an event.

If big events are held simultaneously, traffic gets bad and local recreational surfers get edged out.

And if permits are denied or a number of promoters vie for the same location and time window, then the issue goes before the city Conflict Resolution Committee. That takes more time.

In response, the North Shore Neighborhood Board has passed along some recommendations to city officials, taking issue with some new proposed rules.

In the current draft, the city is allowing two contests to run simultaneously at different beaches on the North Shore. Neighborhood Board member Gil Riviere said that is unacceptable because it would result in congestion on roadways and lack of beach use for recreational users.

Les Chang, director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, said the department is working hard to maintain a balance between the needs of surf contest promoters and beach access for recreation users, the community and businesses.

Recommendations proposed by the Neighborhood Board's surf committee include:

» No two time windows may overlap.

» Permit applications must be submitted between Sept. 1 and Sept. 30 for the following contest year. The surf contest season usually begins in October.

» The parks director should approve and announce the schedule of permitted events for the next contest year no later than Oct. 31. The city Conflict Resolution Committee report is available for public review at this time and any permit denied shall be done so in writing with the reasons for the denial.

» The North Shore Neighborhood Board should designate its Conflict Resolution Committee representative no later than its September meeting.

Some promoters hope the city will improve the permitting process, saying that issuance is held too close to the surf contest season, leaving little time to make arrangements to hold their events.

  “;Ideally, it takes 30 days, but it (more often) takes five to six weeks or possibly longer,”; said Ed D'Ascoli, promoter of the Xcel Pro, a three-day event held at Sunset Beach.

D'Ascoli, who was part of the surf committee, said they recommended the permitting process be held a year before the surf contest season begins to allow promoters to appeal if a permit is denied. He said the city recognizes the problem.

The process as it is now leaves little time for promoters to plan their events, get in contact with athletes around the world and arrange for sponsorship, said Betty Depolito, contest promoter of the Women's Pipeline Pro.

Chang said the department tries to issue permits three months before the surf contest season opens, but that the process was sluggish this year.

Banzai Pipeline from late January to early February are the prime place and time that contest promoters target.