February 10, 2003

KAPIOLANI PARK TRUST

I have done some research on the history of the Kapiolani Park trust and what follows is a summary of my understanding of it. This is a rough summation and in no way is it to be interpreted as anything beyond a cursory review of numerous documents.

The Kapiolani Park Association was established in 1876 and was officially dedicated by King Kalakaua on Kamehameha Day in 1877. The Park was made up primarily of Crown lands and some privately owned land was absorbed. The Association was a corporation where, for $50 a share, you could become an owner of a plot of land and use it as you chose. Many people built houses. Horseracing and other exhibitions and forms of recreation took place on the open spaces.

In 1896, the Republic of , through Act 53, set up the Trust. The Park Association dissolved and the Park Commission was formed. There were six members of the Commission who managed the park, three appointed by the President of the and three appointed by the Park Association. As the terms of the commissioners expired, the President appointed the replacements. Considerable trading of land was done in order to set the Park boundaries. The key provisions of the Trust are that it is to be permanently set aside as a free public park and recreation ground forever, no land in the park can be leased or sold and no entrance fee can be charged with the exception of any special exhibition or entertainment. (Some of these provisions were apparently interpreted loosely in the next several years, since only members of the polo club were allowed to be inside the racecourse, there were fees for teams to play in the park, rental fees were charged for keeping horses at the stables, etc.)

In 1913 the Territory of Hawaii, through Act 163, transferred administrative authority of the Park from the Park Commission to the City & County of Honolulu.

In 1987, the Burger King proposal to lease land to build a restaurant that would serve patrons both inside and outside the Zoo was disallowed by the Supreme Court. (Leasing or selling land is explicitly forbidden by the Trust).

In 1991, Judge Chun appointed the City Council as guardians of the Trust. The day-to- day operations remained with the Executive Branch of the City. It was determined that the City could enter into concessions contracts without City Council approval and the City could change departmental management responsibilities as well.

In 1992, I believe, the Kapiolani Park Preservation Society (KPPS) questioned whether it was legal for the Zoo to charge admission. I haven’t been able to find a court ruling that dismissed the question.

There has been much trading of land in the last several years, so the Park boundaries keep shifting. For example, KPPS said it was improper to have the Fire Station at the corner of Paki and Kapahulu since it is on land in the Park. The judge ruled that, for safety purposes, the Fire Station should stay, but the City had to transfer land to the park that was equal in size to what the Fire Station is on. Thus, the Fire Station is no longer in the Park.

The fact that the artists sell their paintings by the Zoo fence has been disputed by the KPPS and, to date, no court ruling has been made.