THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	145
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE 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, 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 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