City parks curfew proposed
By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
Nearly all city parks on O'ahu would be closed after dark, under a bill introduced by Councilman Donovan Dela Cruz.
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Only one in four city parks now are closed at night, typically at the request of neighbors. The bill would take the opposite approach, closing them at night unless neighbors request they be open.
"It's unfortunate that we even have to do this," Councilman Donovan Dela Cruz said.
Dela Cruz said the law will make it easier for police to deal with illegal and improper activity — drug dealing, drug use, drinking, vandalism and noise — at city recreational sites. The proposal to close parks overnight came during public forums about how to address drug-related issues, Dela Cruz said.
"Hopefully, this will help police when they monitor parks," he said. "It's unfortunate that we even have to do this."
The bill calls for ball courts and lighted athletic fields at public parks to be closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Other parks would be closed from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Exceptions would be made for recreation centers, gymnasiums, swimming pools and other facilities with sanctioned nighttime activities or special events.
Parks where camping and night fishing are allowed would be exempt, as would those used by Hawaiians "exercising their traditional and customary rights for subsistence, cultural and religious purposes," the bill says.
The law proposes issuing first-time violators of night closure hours a warning, with repeat offenders subjected to fines of $25 to $100 for each violation.
Dela Cruz said he wanted the proposal to be flexible. A provision allows neighborhood boards, within 90 days of the effective date of the ordinance, to petition the Department of Parks and Recreation to either extend hours at a given park or keep it open all night.
Signs would go up at each park to be closed overnight, Dela Cruz said.
Carol Costa, spokeswoman for Mayor Jeremy Harris, said the city already has the ability to close parks. Nearly all those closed at night are at the suggestion of the area neighborhood boards responding to neighbors who complained of drinking, loud partying, loitering or other nuisance complaints, she said.
"If the councilman's intent is to deal with problem parks, we're certainly willing to do that," Costa said, declining to say whether the administration would support the bill.
The parks department reported that 121 out of 480 parks have hours in which they are closed, typically from 10 p.m. to 5 or 6 a.m. Each has signs specifying the hours, Costa said.
Of the city's largest parks, Ala Moana is open all night with the exception of the Magic Island parking lot, which is closed from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.; most of Kapi'olani Park is open 24 hours; Kuhio Beach is open all night; and Central O'ahu Regional Park is closed from 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.
