The City and County of Honolulu Parks and Recreation Department is rolling out an islandwide field permitting system for outdoor play fields.
DPR Director Laura Thielen said in a news release Monday, “As more and more organizations offer a wider variety of activities, all vying for the same park fields, we hope this system helps to bring a sense cohesion to our growing sports communities. We’ve seen far too many cases of tempers flaring during what should be peaceful athletic events. With everyone coming to the table and interacting face-to-face with their fellow permittees and park staff, we hope they see the value in working together to share our limited park space.”
Outdoor play fields are one of the most popular public activities on Oʻahu, with teams and organizations using the 221 ball diamonds and 129 play fields year-round.
Previously, DPR used a patchwork variety of methods to schedule field usage, from field user meetings to first come, first served, according to a DPR spokesperson. The spokesperson said that the first field user meetings started about a decade ago, and have proven to be the most equitable and transparent process for managing public fields.
DPR launched a pilot program at 55 parks and nine complexes in March. DPR initially set up the pilot system to issue permits two weeks before permitting blocks began. DPR split the permit blocks into a winter and spring season from Dec. 1 to May 31 and a summer and fall season from June 1 to Nov. 30. Permitees requested additional time, so DPR updated the system to issue permits one month ahead of the permitting block starting next year.
Here’s how it works: interested parties will submit a park use application and field permit form during a period approximately two months before a permit block. DPR will bring applicants together at field user meetings to communicate park rules, field maintenance, park-specific conditions and determine any initial scheduling conflicts.
If there is no scheduling conflict, a permit is issued. If scheduling conflict arises, applicants have a one-week mediation period to resolve their conflict. If the parties cannot resolve the conflict on their own, a recreation director will help resolve the scheduling conflict through a point system and ticket system. Permits are issued once the conflict is resolved. If outdoor field availability remains after permitting is complete, groups can request available field space and times on a first come, first served basis.
A news release issued Monday stated that the new system aims to create fair and transparent ways of assigning field usage, develop consistent and more easily understood practices, increase communication and collaboration between field users and DPR, and more easily address scheduling conflicts.
Large tournaments that have participants and teams traveling from off island can submit applications one year in advance.
Sports teams are still getting used to this new system.
Reid Nomura, CEO of Hawaiʻi Tigers, told Aloha State Daily on Tuesday that park coordinators at Central Oʻahu Regional Park in Waipahu and Ala Wai Community Park were fair and clear on expectations, and that the team “had developed a trusting relationship that we would take care of the space and do our own kōkua.” He said that the preexisting system was working well and the team is adjusting to the new system.
The team wants to use a system that’s easiest on the park coordinators who put hard time and work into the parks, but that the new system is “fixing something that’s not broken.”
i9 Sports Program Director Rene Sanjines said that they are “up in the air” about the new system because they thought the former permitting system worked well for teams in the past. i9 Sports offers flag football, soccer, basketball, baseball and volleyball to approximately 5,000 youth at various parks on Oʻahu.
When teams ran into scheduling conflicts in the past, park coordinators communicated directly with the league and they were flexible and understanding. Sanjines said that there are still some lingering questions about how the new system works. It’s also important to Sanjines that the i9 Sports league is reserving field space to ensure continuity across teams, rather than individual parents and coaches.
DPR staff will discuss the new system and answer questions about the process at 6 p.m. on Sept. 1, Sept. 3 and Sept. 9 on Zoom.
Check out this link for more information.
Haley Lehman can be reached at haley@alohastatedaily.com.
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