The issue of homelessness overwhelming Kapiolani Park cries out for attention — located as it is, in the heart of Honolulu's tourist district — but bringing the problem under control will take more than the proposed ban that's now dividing the City Council.

Residents and tourists have reported harassment from homeless people at the park. They complain that the park "squatters" are panhandling and commandeering tables, benches and restrooms.

One park user wrote in a letter to The Advertiser that he counted 17 campsites between the Waikiki Aquarium and the Queen's Beach restroom and witnessed one male camper assaulting his female companion.

Camping in the park, particularly when such disruptions occur, clearly can't be tolerated. But Bill 2, the measure introduced by City Councilman Charles Djou, will have little effect other than to give police a law that's impossible to enforce fairly.

The measure bars camping at the park, defining "camping" as "the use and occupation of a public park as a temporary or permanent dwelling place or sleeping place at any time."

This essentially would prohibit sleeping at the park around the clock, which ought to incense anyone who reasonably considers grabbing a little shut-eye beneath the leafy trees a perfectly acceptable way to enjoy the surroundings.

Obviously, the targets are those people who have set up semi-permanent housekeeping with tents and other gear. But any of them could make a legitimate complaint that others who may be sleeping there are being given a pass.

The technical problems with the wording aside, the ban by itself can't possibly solve the problem because there are no shelter options in East Honolulu. Many of the homeless choose Kapiolani because they work nearby and will find a way to come back if there is no alternative. Or, they will simply be displaced to a park in another community.

City Councilman Todd Apo is correct that any initiative to reclaim Kapiolani for public use should follow a model used with some success at Ala Moana and Waianae Coast parks. It should be closed at night and a site found for additional emergency shelter.

Police should be given the resources to enforce the closure, patrolling and having loiterers pack up and leave.

Waikiki is a district that remains active throughout the night, so special allowances should be made for people who are walking through the park or for special events at the bandstand or elsewhere.

Pastor Bob Erb of the Waikiki Beach Outreach Ministry rightly called on the council to remember that "taking care of the poor," rather than merely displacing them, is a duty of government.

The council clearly needs to keep the use of Kapiolani Park from deteriorating into abuse. But simply imposing a ban is a superficial treatment of a deep problem, and whatever relief it produces will never last.