Posted on: Monday, July 4, 2005
Input invited for dog park
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
HAWAI'I KAI — Dog owners are on their way to getting a dog park in Hawai'i Kai with the approval of money from the city to design and plan the park at Keahole Street and Kalaniana'ole Highway.
July 14 — City Councilman Charles Djou will hold a community informational meeting at 7 p.m. at Haha'ione Elementary School cafeteria to hear what the community wants in a dog park at Keahole Street and Kalaniana'ole Highway. City Department of Parks and Recreation officials will attend. For more information, call 547-7004.
Aug. 7 — The Hui 'Ilio Hawai'i is sponsoring a fundraising dog walk at 8 a.m. through Hawai'i Kai. Organizers hope to draw 100 walkers with dogs. Cost is $15 for pre-registration before July 22, or $20 the day of the event, which begins and ends at the Hawai'i Kai Park & Ride makai lot. For registration, write to hui-ilio@hawaii.rr.com. Proceeds will benefit Hui 'Ilio Hawai'i, a nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing a dog park. City Councilman Charles Djou, who asked the council to approve the appropriation, said the dog park has widespread support from the community.
"We're going to make this happen somehow," said Elaine Dobashi, president of Hui 'Ilio Hawai'i, the nonprofit group that is trying to get the dog park built. "We definitely want it done now. There is an awful lot of interest in the dog park."
There are two other city-owned dog parks on O'ahu: one in Mililani and the other in Moanalua. In addition, there are two privately run dog parks on O'ahu: one on the slopes of Diamond Head and the other at the Hawaiian Humane Society. In 2001, the Honolulu City Council passed legislation to authorize the Department of Parks and Recreation to establish off-leash dog parks.
Djou has organized a community meeting to discuss what residents want in the dog park and what the city can provide.
"Dog parks are not an unreasonable way to spend a portion of the park's department budget on," Djou said. "I'm willing to help the group get this, and the fact that they're willing to help raise funds is a good thing."
The Hui 'Ilio Hawai'i group of dog owners found the site and worked with Djou to get it funded with $11,000 for planning and design. Next year, Djou said, he will ask the city to pay for the construction. The group began its effort about a year ago, collected signatures on petitions that urged the city to support the plan and obtained the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board's support.
"We see this as a nice addition to our community," Dobashi said. "It's a quality of life issue and leaves the space open without any buildings on it."
The group estimates there are about 8,000 dogs living in East Honolulu. Many of the dogs' owners have no place legally to let their dogs run, so they often converge on parks, school grounds and empty lots around sunset. In many of these locations, dogs are not allowed without a leash.
The dog-owners group plans to help the city with special cleanups and provide volunteer rangers when the park is built. To infuse its coffers with cash, the group plans to hold a dog walk at 8 a.m. Aug. 7 through Hawai'i Kai.
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.
The park will be on a portion of five acres of city-owned land that abuts the park-and-ride facility — the same site the city had considered and then rejected for a police station — and is mostly scrub brush now.
To get involved
