How city parks and buildings get their names

(a) The names of all city parks, sites, and facilities shall be determined in accordance with requirements set forth herein. (1) Existing city parks, sites, and facilities may retain the name which has been historically accepted through common usage. (2) New or existing parks, sites, and facilities may be named: (A) For the neighborhood, community, district, or region in which the park, site, or facility is located; (B) After the primary street which it abuts; or (C) In the Hawaiian language with a name which describes the site or its use, function, or purpose. (3) In exceptional cases, a new or existing park, site, facility, or any portion thereof may be named for a person, or for a belief, ideal, concept, or historical event of significance to the community, city, nation, or world. (A) In cases involving a deceased individual, that person shall meet one or more of the following criteria: (i) The person has a significant association with the park, site, or facility; (ii) The person has contributed significantly to the community or area in which the park, site, or facility is located; (iii) The person has achieved significant recognition historically on the city, State, national, or international level; or (iv) The person has been honored for service with the armed forces of the United States of America. (B) In cases involving a living individual, that person shall have contributed 50 or more years of service to the community and only a portion of the park, site, or facility may be named for the individual. (b) When Hawaiian names or words are used to name an existing or new park, site, or facility, the authoritative Hawaiian spelling and diacritical marks shall be used. (c) Any park, site, facility, or memorial name adopted after July 3, 1989** includes appropriate diacritical marks, which shall appear on the park, site, facility, or memorial sign name. Appropriate diacritical marks shall also be required for all replacement signs for park, site, facility, or memorial names in effect on July 3, 1989**. The department that controls, maintains, and manages the park, site, facility, or memorial may take all steps necessary to redesignate the names of existing parks, sites, facilities, or memorials to include appropriate diacritical marks where such redesignation is found to be necessary or appropriate. Editor’s note: * Ord. 06-02 amended § 22-9.3 to provide that the names of city parks, sites and facilities may be named for former mayors or councilmembers who are still living, but pursuant to § 4 of Ord. 06-02, the ordinance was repealed as of July 31, 2006. ** “July 3, 1989” is substituted for “the effective date of this article.”