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But for a public outcry, President Obama could have spent some of his retirement soaking up rays and catching waves at a popular beach in Honolulu named in his honor. But a plan to rename one of the president's favorite beaches came to a screeching halt this week.

Honolulu city council members rejected a resolution that would have renamed Sandy Beach Park to President Barack Obama Sandy Beach Park because native Hawaiians were concerned that the name change would encroach on the beach's cultural and historical significance and flood it with more tourists.

City Council Chairman Ernie Martin and co-sponsor Stanley Chang first brought up the idea to rename the beach last week, but decided yesterday not to go through with it.

"It's not that the president isn't worthy of some degree of recognition, but perhaps we should look at other areas besides Sandy Beach," Martin told Hawaiian TV news station KHON.

Mark Segami, a spokesman for the Honolulu City Council, told ABC News that the council is now considering naming a rail stop in downtown Honolulu after the president, since he is a huge supporter of the rail transit project.

According to Segami, the intent is still to come up with something to honor the president and to get more community input.

Segami also said that while the beach itself won't be named after President Obama, the council is finalizing plans to put up a plaque that acknowledges President Obama's ties to Sandy Beach Park.

It reportedly is a favorite spot of his - he used to body-surf there when he was a kid, and also did so during his 2008 presidential campaign.

The 44 th president is the only commander-in-chief to hail from Hawaii, and the Aloha State has yet to name any landmark after him.

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