Paradise Park, founded by developer James W.Y. Wong, received its first conservation district use permit 50 years ago, when the state Board of Land and Natural Resources granted it to establish the zoological and botanical garden.

Now Wong and his son, Darryl, are proposing to redevelop the Manoa Valley park into a visitor attraction again, as Paradise Park has not been in operation for 22 years.

Assuming the owners hold to conditions similar to those they observed while Paradise Park still maintained full operations, there should be no reason their project shouldn’t move ahead.

The state board will take up the plan at 9 a.m. Friday in room 132 of the Kalanimoku Building. The panel should give the applicant the asked-for extension of the permit until October.

There’s likely to be a turnout from neighbors who fear it will be intrusive; attendance is being drummed up through postings on a Facebook page about the issue.

However, the tourist activity proposed is unchanged from what was allowed there for nearly three decades. The noise and other effects can be controlled to minimize the impact on nearby residential areas.

Formerly known for its exhibits of exotic birds, Paradise Park Inc. secured state approval in October 2014 to reopen the 12.3-acre site garden complex with commercial hula shows.

Unfortunately for the owner, the permit was allowed to lapse, and that provided time for opposition to mount.

Approval is sought for two of three planned phases of improvements with this permit. However, on full buildout the new park would include nine gardens with native and introduced plants; Native Hawaiian cultural exhibits; a display presenting historical information about Manoa Valley, featuring a replica of Queen Kaahumanu’s summer home; a hula museum and hula shows; and possibly a luau setting.

The original park — with its garden, aviaries and a 300-seat covered amphitheater — operated from 1968 to 1994. After the park was shuttered, its Treetops Restaurant and a gift shop, operated by the younger Wong, remained open.

The Manoa Neighborhood Board voted to oppose the redevelopment early last year, urging DLNR to reverse its 2014 approval. The board asserted that officials did not consider community opinions. These included concerns about noise and traffic — particularly the owners’ hope to attract roughly 400,000 tourists each year.

Members argued that two meetings on the park plan were not well publicized or attended, adding that the applicant’s presentation lacked detail.

But that complaint itself lacks a solid basis in the facts as presented in DLNR’s response. The agency countered by saying the board expressed support for the notion of the park’s reopening.

Department officials also contended that the neighborhood board provided no feedback on comments the agency provided about the plans in 2010, 2013 and 2014.

To reject the proposal now seems unfair, particularly since it is resuming an activity that had been well established on the site.

The owners should make assurances that bus traffic should be constrained to the 24 daily tour buses, and should fulfill the pledge to keep the passenger load down to moderate levels.

Opponents are seeking the requirement of an environmental impact statement on the redevelopment. But Suzanne Case, DLNR’s director and chairwoman of the land board, correctly dismissed that request because the scope of the plan is limited to fixing the landscaping and reusing existing facilities.

There’s little change to prior use expected here — and little justification for the outcry the project has generated.