Long-running art sales and craft fairs are permitted uses of Kapi'olani Park, but the city should come up with guidelines for the popular Waikiki gathering place to avoid future legal challenges and uses of the park inconsistent with its public trust, a court-appointed special master said.

In a 76-page report filed with state Probate Court last week, attorney Bruce Graham writes that, "Kapi'olani Park is a special situation and deserves its own rules and regulations. The rules for the park should be tailored to the park and available for distribution to anyone requesting a permit."

The report's recommendations are likely to spur a ruling on a 2003 petition to the court, in which City Council members asked for guidance on whether a weekend art sale on the zoo fence and nearby craft fairs violate the Kapi'olani Park trust, which was designed to preserve the park as a public space. The council filed the petition because of community concerns about commercialism in the park.

The next hearing in the case has not yet been set.

In his report, Graham said existing art sales and cultural fairs do not violate restrictions on commercial activities in the park, and argued instead that the venues should be considered cultural exhibits. "Just as a shopping center is not a park ... (because) landscaping provides shade and beauty, the park is not a shopping center just because someone makes a sale there," Graham wrote.

But he noted that expansion of the sales "could become problematic."

And he also said that stand-alone craft fairs should "not be allowed to become swap meets."

"Stand-alone craft fairs should be limited to goods made by the artisans present and the goods should be the product of their concept, artistry or handiwork," he said.

Michelle Matson, Kapi'olani Park Advisory Council president, said she disagrees with some of the conclusions in the report. Though she thinks the art on the zoo fence should stay, she doesn't believe the artists should be able to sell art on-site. "It's private enterprise on public land," she said.