No walk in the park

The city’s plan to build a lifeguard substation next to the Waikiki Aquarium in Kapiolani Park has run into a wall of opposition from preservationists determined to prohibit any construction on the park’s limited waterfront.

"The park is for park use, not for anything else no matter how worthy," said Kapiolani Park Preservation Society President Alethea Rebman. "We can’t let oceanfront land be taken for an administration building."

The plan calls for construction of an 1,800-square-foot Ocean Safety Substation with an adjacent parking and maintenance lot, which the Preservation Society estimates would take up about 13,000 square feet on park land between Kalakaua Avenue and the ocean.

The city says the substation is needed in case the nearby Waikiki Natatorium, which is currently used by Ocean Safety administrators and lifeguards covering Oahu’s south shore, becomes unsafe. The city has spent more than $100,000 on plans for the substation.

The Preservation Society says it will fight the new building in court if needed, adding that the city should not have paid for plans before determining if the substation could be built.

"They are spending money on plans and consultants before they ascertain what is allowable," Rebman said.

Honolulu City Councilman Stanley Chang (District 4, Waikiki, Kaimuki and Hawaii Kai) said the city has moved forward without the "full knowledge" of the council­members, who serve as trustees for Kapiolani Park.

"Obviously, since becoming aware of it, we are concerned," Chang said. "Should there be trustee action needed, we will certainly move forward. I’d like to convene the trustees to discuss this issue."

During Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s administration, the city paid Jeffrey Nishi & Associates $91,191 to plan and design the lifeguard substation, said Mayor Peter Carlisle’s press secretary, Louise Kim McCoy. The city recently spent another $11,732 when it hired Pacific Consulting Services Inc. to assess the cultural impact of the project, McCoy said.

The city wants to finish the substation’s permitting and design quickly in case a replacement is needed for the Natatorium, McCoy said. However, the city has not budgeted the $500,000 needed for construction, she said.

"It (the new Ocean Safety Substation) was planned in anticipation that an alternate facility might be needed for the substation," McCoy said.

Large portions of the Natatorium pool structure, which dates to the 1920s, could suddenly fail, making the building unsafe for use by Ocean Safety, she said.

The city also is planning a $3.6 million expansion of its Kapiolani Park nursery, which is on a park tract bounded by Noela Street, the Diamond Head Tennis Center, Gail Street and Paki Avenue.

The Kapiolani Park Preservation Society, which formed in 1986 to prevent a Burger King from being built in the park, said both the lifeguard substation and the nursery violate the terms of the 116-year-old Kapiolani Park Trust.

When asked about the Preservation Society’s land use concerns, McCoy said, "It is our understanding that the proposed site (for the Ocean Safety Substation) is not on trust land."

That’s not the way the Preservation Society sees it. Park boundaries that existed in 1896 when Act 53 of the Republic of Hawaii established the trust are still in force, said Rebman, the Preservation Society president, who is a Honolulu-based attorney.

"If they were shifted around after that, they violated the provisions of the trust," she said.

The Preservation Society and other groups have fought attempts to grab trust land for decades, said Jack Gilmar, an emeritus member of the society’s board.

The city has operated Kapiolani Regional Park, which encompasses nearly 166 acres including the Honolulu Zoo and the Waikiki Shell, since 1913. The trust essentially disappeared and parts of the park were taken to satisfy city and state needs, Gilmar said. President Thomas Jefferson Elementary School and a city fire department station, equipment yard and parking lot are previous trust violations, he said.

Gold Coast residents rediscovered the trust while trying to halt then-Mayor Frank Fasi’s push for park commercialization, Gilmar said.

The ensuing battle between the city, the state and the Preservation Society eventually landed in the Hawaii Supreme Court, which supported the Preservation Society’s claim that Kapiolani Park "is and will always be governed by the terms of the 1896 trust," Gilmar said.

Members of the Honolulu City Council have served as court-appointed guardians of the trust since 1991. The mayor’s office is responsible for day-to-day operations. The Preservation Society is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to keep the park free and open to the public.

Michelle Matson, who belongs to the Kapiolani Park Advisory Council, another park watchdog, said the city’s lifeguard substation could be interpreted as necessary for park users. However, she does not support the plan that she saw in late January.

"This design is not what we had envisioned," Matson said. "If it requires parking, it’s more than an accessory use. Also, it looks like it would be some sort of headquarters and that is unacceptable."

The city should have informed the Preservation Society, the neighborhood boards, the State Historic Division or other interested parties before planning projects, Rebman said. City Council members should have asked the courts for guidance, she added.

Oblivious to the brewing battle, Ashli Hawelu was sprawled out Wednesday on the undeveloped stretch of lawn where the city might build the lifeguard substation.

"It’s nice and quiet here," said Hawelu, who is the president of the Diamond Head Community Garden. "It’s one of the few places in Waikiki for locals."

When told of city plans, Hawelu said she opposes any development that takes park land from the people.

"How do city workers get such special privileges? If they put them here, where will we go?" she said.

The Preservation Society is also opposed to the city’s plan to replace an existing one-story nursery building with a much larger two-story, 7,900-square-foot administration building on the mauka side of the park. The development would provide workstations for the Division of Urban Forestry as well as office and meeting space, classrooms, restrooms, showers and lockers for city workers. Plans also include a 1,200-square-foot caretaker’s cottage, off-street parking for 18 vehicles, and a loading zone.

"Say what?" Hawelu said of the nursery upgrades. "They have enough space already."

While the city’s nursery was allowed under a 1991 Hawaii Circuit Court ruling, Kapiolani Park cannot serve as a staging and administration center, Rebman said.

"The city has been in partial violation of this order ever since, wrongly using the nursery as a base yard for trucks serving all of east Honolulu," she said.

Matson, who belongs to the Diamond Head/Kapahulu/St. Louis Heights Neighborhood Board, said she will withhold judgment on the nursery expansion until after it is presented to the board on Thursday.

"It’s been a great benefit to have (Urban Forestry) there, but the heavy-equipment vehicles are another story," Matson said.

Bob Loy, the Outdoor Circle’s director of environmental programs, said he is unfamiliar with city plans for the lifeguard substation. However, the environmental advocacy group is monitoring the city’s nursery expansion, he said.

"We know that they have needs, but we won’t know if their plans are acceptable until we see the total environmental assessment," Loy said. "Certainly, we are concerned about a two-story building in the park."

An improved nursery, which was part of the city’s 2010 budget, is badly needed, said city Department of Parks & Recreation Director Gary Cabato.

"They are almost working in a ghetto situation," Cabato said.

Replacing the caretaker’s cottage, which was torn down more than a decade ago, could reduce city overtime by $40,000 a year, he said.

Cabato, who was present at a Preservation Society meeting last week, said that he would consider moving the nursery although it would be difficult to change course since the city already has spent $250,000 on the planning phase. However, the city’s fiscal situation may buy time for the parties to work out their differences, Cabato said.

"The construction phase is at least four years away," he said.

Legal maneuvers also could cause delays, Cabato said.

"We may have to let it run its course with the attorneys for (Preservation Society) and the city," he said.

Decisions should favor the best interests of Hawaii’s residents, Hawelu said.

"If they have everything crowding around, they’ll take the beauty out of Waikiki," she said. "The beach is a sacred place for Native Hawaiians. It’s where we cleanse ourselves and bless ourselves and gain energy and what we call mana."