Honolulu Parks & Rec standardizes field permitting system islandwide

Three public meetings scheduled in early September 2026 to help explain revitalized process, with additional info online at: honolulu.gov/dpr/outdoor-field-permitting/

Aerial view of the Kahuku District Park ballfield at night

The City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) is proud to announce a comprehensive effort to revitalize the way we permit and organize activities within outdoor play fields, one of the most popular public facilities in Hawai‘i.

DPR operates 221 ball diamonds and 129 play fields around O‘ahu. With the island’s ideal weather conditions creating an environment for year-round usage, managing the demand for these public resources is necessary to ensure equity and greater access for our diverse community of park users.

In the past, DPR Recreation Directors would schedule usage of their fields through a variety of methods, creating an inconsistent patchwork of operations across O‘ahu. Now, DPR aims to institute a standard field permitting system utilizing Field User Meetings.

The overall intent of instituting this system is to:

Create fair and transparent ways of assigning field usage
Better manage this limited public resource
Develop consistent and more easily understood practices
Increase communication and collaboration between field users and DPR
More easily address scheduling conflicts or inequities

“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,” said DPR Director Laura H. Thielen. “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. A big mahalo to our recreation directors for spearheading this island-wide effort, particularly the staff at Pearl City District Park who initially modeled this permitting system and provided guidance on how to bring the whole department on board.”

To help organizations understand these standardized field permitting processes, a dedicated website with details of this effort is available at: honolulu.gov/dpr/outdoor-field-permitting/

INFORMATIONAL ZOOM MEETINGS

In addition to the dedicated website, digital public meetings will be hosted by DPR staff to further discuss these field-permitting systems and answer questions about the processes. These three informational Zoom meetings are scheduled in early September 2026. All times and dates listed below are Hawai‘i Standard Time:

Tuesday, September 1, 2026 at 6 p.m.
Thursday, September 3, 2026 at 6 p.m.
Wednesday, September 9, 2026 at 6 p.m.

All meetings will utilize the same Zoom link, available by using this link: bit.ly/FieldUserMeeting

FIELD USER MEETINGS

The Field User Meeting system is organized into two permitting blocks: Winter – Spring (December 1 – May 31) and Summer – Fall (June 1 – November 30).

To begin, interested parties are asked to submit their permit application during a designated period approximately two months before the beginning of the permitting block. Applications can be submitted via email, in-person, or mailed to the DPR Recreation Director responsible for permitting at that particular park or complex. Mailed applications must be received, not postmarked, within the application period.

	Winter – Spring	Summer – Fall
*Application Period	September 14 – October 9	March 17 – March 31
*Field User Meetings	October 19 – October 30	April 1 – April 15
Permitting Block	December 1 – May 31	June 1 – November 30

*The application period and meeting schedule for the Winter – Spring block will change after the 2026 season, due to input from permitted users requesting a timetable with greater advanced notice. Mahalo for your understanding.

At the end of the application period Field User Meetings are held to bring applicants together, providing DPR staff the opportunity to communicate park rules, field maintenance standards, park-specific conditions, and to determine if there are any initial scheduling conflicts.

Field User Meeting Schedule - October 2026 Picture — Field User Meeting Schedule – October 2026 Picture

If conflicts arise, the applicants have a one-week Mediation Period following the Field User Meeting to resolve their conflict. If the conflict is not resolved, the Recreation Director will begin the Conflict Resolutionprocess. Both of these processes are described in greater length on the effort’s website: honolulu.gov/dpr/outdoor-field-permitting/

Large tournaments can submit applications one year in advance. Large Tournaments are defined as those who have participants/teams travelling from off island, where securing a date a year in advance is required to adequately plan the large event. These tournaments may be restricted to one weekend per month to give balance to other field usage.

If any additional outdoor field availability exists after the Field User Meeting system of permitting is complete, available field space and times can be requested on a first come, first served basis.

AWARDING FIELD PERMITS

Once these processes are complete, the Recreation Director managing the field will inform the applying organization of the dates and times awarded for their use. Permits will be issued up to three months at a time, unless otherwise specific (such as for Large Tournaments described above). If you wish to renew a permit, place contact the Recreation Director.

PILOT PROGRAM

With the dozens of organizations, hundreds of park facilities, and thousands of park users impacted by this effort, DPR first launched this unified system on a sample size of park complexes in March 2026. It began with three Zoom meetings for permittees of 55 parks with nine DPR complexes across O‘ahu. Mahalo to those original permittees for their patience and understanding during the pilot program, and for helping us to better manage the beautiful park facilities we all cherish.

If you need an auxiliary aid/service, other accommodations due to a disability, or an interpreter for a language other than English in reference to this announcement, please contact the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation at (808) 768-3003 on weekdays from 7:45 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. or email parks@honolulu.gov at least three business days before the scheduled event. Without sufficient advanced notice, it may not be possible to fulfill requests.

—PAU—

Follow the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation online and on social media:

YouTube: bit.ly/DPRyoutube Twitter: @honolulu_parks Instagram: @honolulu_parks

Facebook: facebook.com/honolulu.parks Nextdoor: bit.ly/DPRnextdoor

Website: honolulu.gov/parks

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