A community's open space can be identified in terms of systems and areas. Open space systems are continuous networks of open space that result from public rights-of-way, view corridors, building setback areas, parks and private open spaces. Open space areas may be at grade or on upper levels, and are noncontiguous, unbuilt and unobstructed spaces between and adjacent to public and private structures.

A community's recreational resources include areas and facilities provided for active and passive recreational pursuits. Recreation facilities include parks, structures and areas built or made available for recreation. Recreation areas can be located in a number of places, at grade, on the decks of platforms, on the decks of public parking garages, within landscaped areas, and in interior building spaces designed for recreation use.

Mauka Area-wide studies revealed that existing open spaces are generally disorganized, disjointed and frequently hidden or inaccessible. The net results are that such spaces do not presently function as a part of the Mauka Area's open space system. Studies further show that the Mauka Area lacks recreational facilities and areas that relate to human activities with the result that the recreational needs of residents and employees will continue to be frustrated if such facilities are not provided.

It is a fundamental policy of this plan that open space, parks and recreation areas shall be provided by the public and private sectors, individually and jointly, at appropriate locations within the Mauka Area as an integral part of the Mauka Area's redevelopment. Implementation of this policy will ensure that the living and working environment in the Mauka Area will be attractive and desirable to residents, workers, and visitors.

The manner in which open space and recreation resources are made available merits consideration. The Authority studied and analyzed the spatial needs of the various land uses to be contained in mixed-use development and the anticipated open space and recreational facility expectations of their users. Based on these studies, the Authority concluded that open space and recreational land must be functional with respect to location, size and character to satisfy recreation and amenity expectations. Furthermore, the amount of open space and recreational area should not be so extensive as to unduly restrict the capacity of a development to generate reasonable economic returns.

This plan ensures that public and private actions facilitate the creation of open space systems, as well as provide for sufficient on-site recreation and open spaces. This "systems" approach recognizes that the typical open space and recreation needs of a resident have community-wide as well as site-specific dimensions.

The importance of providing open space stems from the valuable public purposes it serves. Open space provides visual and psychological relief from urban developments; assists in providing adequate light and air to land uses; creates opportunities for on-site active and passive recreation activities; serves as linkages among activity centers and uses; and allows for utilization of the natural elements of wind and sunlight.

The importance of open space is recognized in Chapter 206E, HRS, development guidance policies for the Mauka Area. One such policy calls for open spaces to be provided as one of several "necessary community facilities" to be contained within residential developments. This plan ensures that available open space benefits and amenities are available to those who work and do business with commercial and industrial establishments. Other existing public policies also recognize the need to provide developments with adequate and useable open spaces.

This plan addresses open space in terms of systemic or community-wide requirements as well as on-site open space development requirements. The plan considers on-site open spaces to be parts of, and contribute to, the development of community-wide open space systems.

Public rights-of-way include streets, pedestrianways, unobstructed public easements, public sidewalks, public bike paths, and other similar public routes which are available to the public for travel or for their scenic pleasure. It is within those traveled public ways that impressions of the environment are formed. The streetscape and physical design character which can be viewed from other public ways convey a certain feeling or impression about the character of the community, block or neighborhood. The conveyed images include the kinds of activities available therein, the economic status of workers and residents, and the feeling of security in such an environment. In sum, such public ways are the areas of contact between residents and visitors to the community. They are also the conduits for commerce, social interchange, recreation, and other people-oriented activities which give breath and life to a community. Therefore, it is important that open spaces do more than just facilitate movement within a community; they must also appeal to, and stimulate, personal interests.

STREETS - Consistent with the open space purposes that streets must serve, this plan provides for facilities and improvements within structures. Among them are landscaped areas including plantings; public convenience facilities such as benches and kiosks; building features and facades; street furniture; and street signs and graphics in harmony with the adjacent streetscape. None of these characteristics and features shall detract from or interfere with creating and maintaining an open character within the streets and with views from the streets of significant natural, historic, or cultural features and amenities. Further, the streets themselves, being parts of the community's open space systems, shall contain convenient and safe pedestrian access points or areas to public open spaces such as parks and playgrounds.

UNOBSTRUCTED PUBLIC EASEMENTS - Public easements for public utilities, facilities, or other improvements, which do not traverse the public rights-of-way, often present opportunities for increasing the community open spaces, as well as linking existing and proposed public and private open spaces to form an integrated open space system. Whenever such easements are created, every reasonable opportunity shall be taken to have them appropriately landscaped and developed to tie into the system. If such easements are of sufficient size, every effort shall be made to develop them as self-contained recreational areas, as well as to serve as buffers between structures.

PEDESTRIANWAYS - Sidewalks, and other pedestrian paths, whether elevated or at grade, enable people to move within the community, and link public and private open spaces and recreation areas. The plan provides for the creation and maintenance of pedestrianways at grade, along commercial and industrial uses, and as links between land use activities and recreation decks situated atop the 45-foot building platforms. Such pedestrianways shall contain appropriate furniture, landscaping and other design features. For example, the upper-level pedestrian paths shall be designed to facilitate jogging, leisurely walks and rest stops. The heavy use anticipated for such pedestrianways suggests a need for landscaping along such paths to make them an interesting and aesthetically pleasing part of the open space system.

VIEW CORRIDORS - View corridors are an important part of a community's open space resources. It is within and through these spaces that an individual can gain a total perception of the community's physical makeup and of the arrangement of man-made and natural elements. It is within and through these spaces that people experience the scale of their surroundings and the capacity of the environment to satisfy their need for privacy, social contact, and recreation. View corridors enhance an individual's sense of orientation of things and places in the community. Finally, view corridors allow for the penetration of natural light and the flow of winds throughout the community.

In accord with the above purposes of view corridors, it is the policy of this plan to bring about their creation and maintenance during the process of redevelopment. Both the public and private sectors shall address view corridors in the design of mixed-use developments. When necessary, public acquisition of air space in order to develop or protect such resources shall be considered. Requirements for creation and preservation of view corridors are detailed in the Land Use and Urban Design sections of this plan.

BUILDING SETBACK AREAS - Building setback areas, or front, side and rear yards comprise part of a community open space system. However, their primary purposes are to ensure that adequate space is provided between buildings so that adequate light and air can reach each building, and to lessen the risk of potential fire hazards and other dangerous conditions. Such "openness" also forms visual breaks among adjacent structures wherein at-grade landscaping can be placed to increase the amount of greenery on the building site and among neighboring building complexes. Permanent land use activities shall not occur within such setbacks.

Accordingly, land developments within the Mauka Area shall have a minimum front yard setback of l5 feet, and side- and rear-yard setbacks in accordance with the requirements of the Mauka Area's community development rules.

PARKS AND PRIVATE OPEN SPACES - Public and private parks and open spaces are the key areas of open space within a community. When connected by easements, sidewalks, pedestrianways, streets, and similar paths for moving people, they combine to form the backbone of a community's open space system. This section addresses the systemic aspects of such open spaces.

Adequate open space for public use requires the provision of community-wide open space systems and open spaces provided on a site-specific basis. This is particularly important for a community characterized by finite land resources and intense competing land uses. The coordination of public and private open space resources will ensure that the full array of resident, worker and visitor open space needs are met. Accordingly, the location and design of open spaces within a development shall be consistent with the prevailing character of the open space system running through the surrounding vicinity.

Open space areas were defined earlier as noncontiguous, unbuilt and unobstructed spaces atop, between and adjacent to public and private structures. This definition considers the character or quality of the space and land set aside for open space purposes throughout the community. Such land and space qualify as open space areas only if they meet the terms of the definition.

This section addresses the amount, design, and location of privately provided open spaces.

AMOUNT OF PRIVATE OPEN SPACE - In the provision of private open space, other competing economic, social and environmental demands upon the same finite supply of land and space come into play. This also relates to the well-being and/or interests of owners, residents and employees expected within a development. Accommodating such demands requires that the amount of open space within a development site be considered and determined in relation to the net buildable area so that reasonable economic returns can be obtained from the development. On the other hand, open space must be functional with respect to meeting the public purposes. It is therefore a policy of this plan that on-site open space, in addition to building setbacks and parking areas, shall be required in all developments. This open space shall be located at grade or on the decks of platforms. Ten percent of the lot area shall be provided as open space at grade. An additional 20 percent of the lot area shall be provided as open space at grade or at any elevation up to the platform deck level in all projects obtaining a planned development permit. Whenever platform decks are created, these areas shall contain an extensive proportion of the open space not required at grade.

LOCATION OF PRIVATE OPEN SPACE - The location of private open space within a development site is critical in terms of their public purposes. The bulk of such spaces are encouraged to be located on the decks of the 45-foot high platforms so as to make them available for recreational, visual relief, and amenity purposes. Such deck open spaces shall also be arranged, whenever possible, to link up visually and physically with other public open spaces.

Another portion of the required on-site open space shall be located at-grade to serve or compliment grade-level uses. Such at grade spaces can take the form of malls, and/or landscaped areas. For the purposes of this plan, at grade open space shall be located at the elevation of the sidewalk on which the property fronts or up to four feet above the sidewalk level.

DESIGN OF PRIVATE OPEN SPACE - The development of mixed uses within a single site creates the need for on-site open spaces as well as for open spaces near the site. Therefore, privately provided open spaces should augment visually, and physically whenever possible, nearby public open spaces. The configuration of such spaces shall result in useable contiguous areas. When possible, such open spaces shall be contiguous to the public open space system. Open space that is long and narrow is to be avoided.

Open space, whether publicly or privately provided, is a critical element of the Mauka Area's urban design character. Open space enhances the economic value of properties and the identity and character of built-up areas. The policies above, therefore, are intended to achieve the public purposes for open space.

As with open space, the responsibility for providing recreation areas and facilities rests with both the public and private sectors. Therefore, this plan ensures that recreational areas and facilities are provided by both sectors to meet the demands generated by redevelopment of the Mauka Area.

The importance of recreational opportunities throughout the Mauka Area was recognized in the Legislature's development guidance policies for Kakaako Community Development District. The Legislature called for open spaces and parks to be provided as "necessary community facilities" within residential developments. The importance of adequate and attractive recreational areas and facilities suitably located to residents, patrons, and workers is recognized in this plan.

In meeting the objective of providing useful and accessible recreational facilities and areas, this plan addresses: (l) the utilization of available public resources to achieve maximum benefits for the Mauka Area residents, employees and visitors; and (2) the provision of complementary recreational areas and/or facilities by the private sector.

A total of approximately 75 acres of recreation space would be used within the Mauka Area at full development. Approximately half of this space would be provided in public parks and half would be provided in private developments.

The public sector shall provide parks and recreation space based on projected population requirements at total development. The public recreation areas should emphasize the provision of large playfields and game court areas since these activities often need more space than is available on any single development site. The major public areas are shown in the Open Space and Recreation Plan Map (Figure l6). The provision of such space shall be guided by present City standards as defined in Figure 17.

Existing facilities and open areas at Mother Waldron Park, McKinley High School, and within the Neal Blaisdell Memorial Center constitute part or approximately l5 acres of the recreation acreage provided by the public sector. The remaining portion shall be obtained by land acquisition, fees from public facilities dedication requirements, or by special assessment.

The provision of public parks would make a full range of active and passive recreational outlets available to residents, employees and visitors to the Mauka Area. The following describes various park categories, their general locations, and the types of recreational activities anticipated within each park category.

MINI-PARKS - Mini-parks provide immediately accessible recreational spaces for people living and working in surrounding areas. The kinds of activities normally found within such parks include tot lots, small playgrounds and/or a particular type of recreation game court. However, the relatively small land area -- a maximum of l0,000 square feet -- limits the amount of activity to at most two activities.

The location of mini-parks, as indicated in the existing standards, shall be at grade or on the decks of platforms.

The provision of such parks by the public sector would be contingent upon available public resources for development and maintenance.

URBAN PARKS - Urban parks provide immediately accessible passive recreational space primarily to satisfy the needs of patrons and workers of nearby commercial and industrial uses. Such parks provide places for momentary rests and breaks from shopping or work. Hence, such parks should contain benches, landscaping, features that facilitate relaxation, and other improvements designed for passive recreation.

The location of urban parks, as indicated in the existing standards, may be at grade and on the decks of platforms.

The opportunity to develop urban parks shall be available to developers as a means of satisfying all or part of their on-site recreation and open space requirements. The public sector may develop urban parks in the same way as it would develop mini-parks.

NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMMUNITY PARKS - The development of neighborhood and community parks rests primarily with the public sector. These two types of parks are treated together due to their similar characteristics. In these parks, facilities such as fields for organized sports, game courts, and other similar recreational pursuits will be provided. The Open Space and Recreation Plan Map (Figure l6) identifies sites proposed for public parks. These areas are located at the 45-foot level above a public parking garage. The only exceptions to this situation are at the site of the existing Mother Waldron Park where the park will be at grade and alternative parking facility designs within development projects. Waldron Park is proposed at grade based on the development of an at-grade elementary school next to it. Alternative parking facility designs for specific parking projects within development projects may be submitted for approval to the authority without a public park at the top level. The combination of parking facility and development project shall be practically, aesthetically and economically superior to the alternative of constructing the parking facility and development project separately. The authority must also find that the proposed parking facility and development project will not result in an increase of adverse effects to adjacent developments or uses, and that the result will be consistent with the intent of the Mauka Area Plan.

REGIONAL PARKS - Within close proximity to the Mauka Area will be two regional parks -- the existing Ala Moana Park and the proposed Waterfront Park makai of the planning area. Both facilities will serve the greater Oahu area.

Due to its current heavy usage, Ala Moana Park is not considered to be capable of serving the recreational needs of the anticipated population of the Mauka Area on a sustained and effective basis. Therefore, the proposed Waterfront Park will be a major recreational outlet for the Mauka Area residents, employees and visitors.

The Waterfront Park is expected to be about 60 acres in size. The facility will provide opportunities for a mixture of active and passive recreational pursuits such as picnicking, strolling, jogging, field and court games, fishing, surfing, and other land and water-related activities.

This plan ensures that a reasonable amount of recreational space is made available commensurate with the demands, needs and number of residents and employees generated by private sector developments. Accordingly, it is a policy of this plan that private on-site recreation space and facilities shall be provided by the private sector. Mauka Area-wide on-site recreation standards are based on City standards but modified to meet the demands of the land use mixture anticipated within the Mauka Area. Therefore, the amount, location and type of private on-site recreation areas shall be as follows:

The recreation areas provided in any development project may be located in that development's required open space.