City planning market at park on North Shore

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

The city intends to start a weekly open market and monthly craft fair at Sunset Community Park to fill the void that will be left when the North Shore Country Market is forced to vacate its site at the end of the year.

"We would be more than happy to establish (the market and fair) in that community," said city parks director Bill Balfour. "If we do that, the community will have to support it."

Balfour expects that a city People's Open Market could be in place in December and a craft fair could get started in January.

The North Shore Country Market vendors would be welcome to participate in the city markets, provided they follow city guidelines for selling their goods, including price controls, city officials said.

The almost 10-year-old North Shore Country Market has offered produce and crafts on city land between Shark's Cove and Pipeline since 1999.

However, the city has ordered the market to vacate the site because the property will be used as a run-off field for toilets at the community center being planned for the adjoining parcel.

In addition, running a business on city agricultural land is a zoning violation.

The market has not been paying rent for the use of the property, and when the City Council moved to urge the administration to extend the deadline for closing the market, members were advised that they could not make an exception for a single money-making enterprise.

The North Shore Country Market does not have to close, but it would have to move to property zoned for commercial business.

"There's nothing to stop them from doing their thing, they just can't do it on parks property," Balfour said.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.