Public parks are prized recreational assets for local residents and, especially at the beach locations, an iconic draw for thousands of tourists on any given day.

They’re also irreplaceable natural resources that can take a beating from all that traffic — traffic that makes these places irresistible to businesses as well. Concessions that rent recreational equipment regularly seek permits to set up shop, and wedding planners like parks as venues and as settings for photo shoots.

It’s always been a management challenge, and an imperative for the city Department of Parks and Recreation. The agency and the Honolulu City Council have grappled with the issue before, delivering some site-specific regulatory schemes as problems come up. These have successfully constrained commercial activities in select areas, such as Kailua, Waimanalo and the North Shore.

The current administration believes, however, that the city should address park use in a less ad-hoc way by enacting islandwide “standards, limitations and procedures” for park management.

Bill 19 would establish in city law that the purpose of Honolulu public parks is to “serve the recreational needs of the public and preserve the natural, historic and cultural resources of public parks for future generations.”

Assuming that is the basis of issuing permits and setting conditions for any commercial use, that’s an important statement.

But Bill 19 drew some understandable frustration from communities in those Windward and North Shore communities where regulatory restrictions were put in place only a few years ago.

There seems to be no reason to up-end them so soon — and there’s a rational fear that, while new rules are being worked out for Oahu overall, these areas would be overwhelmed immediately.

Laura Thielen, city parks director, said there will be no heated rush to pass this bill as written, and she acknowledged it may be better to develop islandwide standards one step at a time.

That sounds right. One proposal would be to first establish rules for “recreational stops” by vehicles of 12 or more passengers at parks, she said. The current bill already would deny permits for stops on weekends and holidays when beaches are most in demand by residents.

However, in an interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Thielen also defended the general islandwide approach.

There are now 17 parks that have site-by-site restrictions, she said, but there are 50 more with no rules about commercial activity. The fact is that, as near-bans were put in place, starting in Kailua, the commercial activity was merely pushed down the coast.

Popularity of parks is driven in part by social media, she added.

“No place is safe, just because nobody’s going there right now,” Thielen said.

Once a particular zone peaks in popularity, it’s the neighboring communities that feel the effects of commercial activities most keenly, with the impact of added traffic on the availability of their parks and roadways.

So Bill 19 rightly would require the commercial vendor to seek public support through community surveys or public meetings. The department would make the final call on administrative rules defining limits and conditions for the permit.

At the very least, community outreach early in the process would enable neighbors to weigh in while they still may have an impact.

There is a need for decisions to be guided by the conditions at a given park. An activity at a park with limited space might need more curbs than at another.

But it is a knotty problem for all Oahu. The conversation about how to untangle it should proceed slowly, guided by the interests of the public and a healthy environment.