Drinking alcohol would be allowed at Queen’s Beach in Waikiki for private events up to four times a year under a proposed rules change by the city Department of Parks and Recreation.
The proposal is drawing criticism from the Kapiolani Park Preservation Society, which objects to the use of the beach, also known as Queen’s Surf Beach, for private functions that allow consumption of alcoholic beverages when city ordinance prohibits alcohol at city parks and beaches.
The proposed rules change will be the subject of a public hearing set for 2 to 4 p.m. Friday at Mission Memorial Conference Room, 550 S. King St., next to Honolulu Hale. Parks Director Michele Nekota would then decide whether to adopt the change.
Nekota said in a statement Tuesday that her department “drafted the proposed rules for public review at the request of Queen’s Beach event organizers” and has not taken a position on them.
Jesse Broder Van Dyke, a city spokesman, said that among the groups that have approached the city about allowing alcohol at the beach is the NFL, which is holding its Pro Bowl in Honolulu this year on Jan. 31. Traditionally, the league holds several different parties, including some that allow alcohol, in the days leading up to the game.
The beach has hosted a number of events, including volleyball tournaments and, in recent years, the premiere showing of each season’s first “Hawaii Five-0” episode, none of which served alcohol.
The proposed rules change includes a paragraph that allows for liquor to be “served, possessed and consumed” within the Queen’s Beach portion of the larger area known as Kapiolani Beach Park. The section covers approximately 120 yards, beginning at the Diamond Head side of the Kapahulu Groin and stretching toward the Waikiki police substation.
The service area where drinking would be allowed would need to be clearly delineated and not exceed 2,400 square feet. Minors would not be allowed in the area, and alcohol would not be allowed outside the area.
An event organizer with a permit would need to obtain a liquor license from the city Liquor Commission. Liquor would not be sold within the service area, meaning tickets would be sold in advance or at least outside the service area and park. The proposal also states that entry into the service area would need to be by invitation only and “not open to the public.”
As written, only one permit authorizing alcohol consumption would be allowed once during a three-month period, or a maximum of four times a year.
Alethea Rebman, president of the Kapiolani Park Preservation Society, said her group doesn’t see the need to reserve a prime section of Waikiki Beach for an exclusive event that allows drinking when there are other venues, both public and private, where an event that involves serving alcohol can be held.
“The parks are supposed to be free and open to the public,” Rebman said. Under the proposal, an area is being carved out for VIPs, she said. “You can buy the right to drink there if you’re an invited guest, but for Kimo Public, you and me, access is going to be limited.”
When the Honolulu Zoo attempted to allow an event that served alcohol, the preservation society fought successfully to have the plan rejected by the city’s Liquor Commission.
Alcoholic beverages are allowed to be sold at the Waikiki Shell, which is part of Kapiolani Park, and McCoy Pavilion at Ala Moana Park. But Rebman said those locations are different because they were developed specifically as venues designed to provide entertainment. Another exception allows for a nonprofit vendor to serve alcohol at Kapiolani Park one day a year during the Aloha Week Festivals, but no one has applied for it in at least a decade, city spokesman Andrew Pereira said.
Rebman said that while the space and number of times an event would be allowed annually are limited on paper, nothing prevents the parks director from allowing exceptions to the rule.
Language in the proposed rule appears to allow alcohol to be used in other parks and beaches at the discretion of the parks director.
In the past, Mayor Kirk Caldwell has described concession space at Ala Moana Beach Park as an ideal location for people to watch the sunset and enjoy an alcoholic beverage.
But Nekota said “this proposed rule will only apply to Queen’s Beach, not any other city park.”
City Councilwoman Kymberly Pine, who heads the Council Parks Committee, said she supports the proposed rules “if that’s what the department feels is an appropriate use for the land … and as long as drinking is in a controlled environment and does not affect other park users.”
The rules would not be appropriate for other areas of the island, “but this is Waikiki,” Pine said, noting that just beyond the beach are businesses that sell alcoholic beverages.
Pine said she hopes the change will bring in money for city parks. “We do need to look at other revenue sources for the city that does not include tax increases,” she said.
But the rules, while they specify refundable security deposits and a $5 million insurance policy, are silent on the issue of fees. Nekota told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the city would not charge a fee for the permit.
Broder Van Dyke, the mayor’s spokesman, said the timeline for the proposal, if approved, could allow for the NFL to apply for a permit for a Pro Bowl party.
Franklin Don Pacarro, administration for the Honolulu Liquor Commission, said his agency has not received any requests for liquor permits anywhere on Oahu by the NFL this year. The commission, which meets every Thursday, typically needs 15 days to process and schedule a one-time event liquor permit.
