THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	180
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the city and county of Honolulu to include in the penalty for park closure offenses a mandatory THIRTY-day ban.

 

 

        WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu enforces a range of ordinances relating to the use of public parks; and

 

        WHEREAS, these ordinances are necessary to ensure orderly administration of the City's green spaces and maintain the availability of public parks for use by the general public; and

 

        WHEREAS, entering or remaining in a public park during the hours that a park is closed, as indicated by signage posted on the park's premises, is a violation of section 10-1.2(a)(12) of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu (park closure ordinance); and

 

WHEREAS, a violation of the park closure ordinance is a petty misdemeanor offense under section 10-1.6(d)(1), Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, and punishable by a fine of up to $500, imprisonment of up to thirty days, or both; and

 

        WHEREAS, the penalty for a park closure offense does not include a mandatory ban from subsequent use of the park; and

 

        WHEREAS, many persons who violate the park closure ordinance ultimately return to the same park and commit the same offense; and

 

        WHEREAS, instituting a mandatory ban that prohibits an offender from using the park for a thirty-day period after citation or arrest would deter and reduce future violations; now, therefore,

 

        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the House of Representatives concurring, that the City and County of Honolulu is requested to amend the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu to require that a person who is cited or arrested for violating the park closure ordinance be banned from using the park for a period of thirty days after the date of citation or arrest, as applicable; provided that the ban shall be enforced against the person twenty-four hours a day, seven days per week; provided further that a person who violates the thirty-day ban shall be subject to arrest under the park closure ordinance or under the trespass laws of the State, as applicable; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu; Director of Parks and Recreation of the City and County of Honolulu; and Chair of the Honolulu City Council.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Park Closure Ordinance; Penalty; Mandatory 30-Day Ban