Bill curbing Waikiki parades and block parties advances

A bill to restrict parades and block parties in Waikiki won initial approval Tuesday from the City Council Transportation Committee.

Bill 8 was introduced by interim Councilman Michael Formby in response to concerns from businesses and residents.

The bill also seeks to ensure that the events that do occur serve a public purpose.

Currently, up to 39 events annually can be granted for a parade, block party or other community function that closes off Waikiki roads for two hours or more. Of those, 14 are so-called “legacy” events that receive automatic approval if they have been occurring annually for at least 15 consecutive years.

It’s the remaining nonlegacy events, which may be determined by lottery, that would shrink to 12 from 15. Meanwhile the mayor’s allowance for up to 10 waivers, under certain circumstances, would drop to no more than six under the bill.

The city does not charge promoters of legacy or nonlegacy events for their permits.

At one time an estimated 60 events were allowed annually, but that was reduced with the Council’s adoption of Ordinance 15-44, which established the current limits.

Deputy Transportation Services Director Jon Nouchi said the bill helps to strike a balance and that Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s administration likes the idea of requiring the events to include a public purpose.

Transportation officials are talking with city attorneys on how best to define public purpose, Nouchi said.

Rick Egged, Waikiki Improvement Association president, said, “The crucial thing about the (current) law is that it says that in order for the public street to be closed down, which inhibits access and mobility, there has to be an overriding public purpose, there has to be a benefit to the community.”

The new bill strengthens that section by requiring event organizers to report back to DTS within 30 days on how it met their public-purpose requirements, he said.

Gareth Sakakida, managing director of the Hawaii Transportation Association, said street closures inconvenience not only truck and bus drivers and their companies, but also out-of-town visitors making their way in and out of the area and businesses who need to make and receive deliveries.

Several businesses owners with links to the events said the proposal is too severe.

David Millwood of Millwood Ohana Productions has organized, or helped to organize, a majority of the lottery events in recent years. After the city adopted rules preventing any one applicant from holding more than two events a year, other businesses or organizations that won permits hired Millwood to run their events.

Millwood said his events raise funds for a number of local nonprofits, including the Waikiki Health Center.

“It would seem reasonable that quantifying public benefit versus private benefit should apply to all, even the legacy events,” he said. “Why should an event, simply because it has operated for more than 15 years, be exempt from the same requirements?”

Johnny Kai of Johnny Kai Productions said visitors to Waikiki complain about the lack of available entertainment. “These festivals are important because it’s about entertainment,” Kai said.

The festivals provide opportunities for local entertainers to gain exposure, he added.

Mark Wallace, co-owner of Mega-Load Burgers, said his company has been participating in Waikiki festivals since 2015 and that they account for roughly 60 percent of his total sales. He said any reduction in events would likely result in lost sales.

Formby is considering further changes to the bill, including further reducing the number of lottery events and prohibiting events on major holidays when traffic is already bad.