The Honolulu civic center's parklike setting with Iolani Palace as a gem in the center, and the open view of the Diamond Head landmark, are part of the legacy of planner Aaron Levine.

Levine was president of the Oahu Development Conference from 1962 to 1987, a time of burgeoning growth on Oahu.

“;He helped make planning part of everyday conversation,”; said Tom Dinell, professor emeritus of the University of Hawaii Department of Urban and Regional Planning. “;He very firmly believed in widespread participation in planning.”;

Levine, 91, died Sept. 22 at his home in Clackamas, Ore.

“;He was a thinker who actually found ways to implement his thoughts,”; said David Callies, Kudo law professor at the University of Hawaii Richardson School of Law.

“;He had a devotion to civic responsibility. He believed it was everybody's civic duty to make the place as good as it could be,”; said Callies. “;He believed in talking things out.”;

Levine organized standing committees on land use and transportation. “;He identified those as two of the major issues in Hawaii,”; said Callies. Another issue of importance to Levine was to set aside land for agricultural use.

Callies said the planner brought “;some very high-end people”; from the business and academic worlds together for monthly discussions that usually involved dinner prepared by Levine's wife, Beatrice.

Levine was a prolific writer on planning matters, putting ideas developed by the ODC committees out in the community, before city and state government leaders and beyond Hawaii.

Alice Guild, former president of the Friends of Iolani Palace, said Levine was instrumental in forming the group and seeing that the historic center of Hawaiian government was preserved.

“;The new state Capitol was under construction. It became apparent that the palace was the center of this civic center, and there was no plan for it,”; said Guild. “;Aaron was the lead person in helping to make the vision a reality.”;

Levine was chairman of a state committee on the civic center master plan, and “;that saved many of the historic and beautiful buildings,”; said Guild.

“;He was such an important part of our community during the days of tremendous growth. Our city could have gone in a totally different direction if he had not been part of it,”; she said. “;His credibility was without question. There was no one else with the right background and understanding that if we didn't begin to pay attention to our environment, we were very close to making changes that we couldn't undo,”; Guild said.

Levine was instrumental in getting the city to limit development on the slopes of Diamond Head, and in stopping a state proposal to build a freeway along the Honolulu waterfront.

He was chairman of the state advisory committee for the federal Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program and was national president of the American Society of Planning Officials in 1966-67.

The Waikiki Improvement Association presented him with a Malama Aina award for preservation and enhancement of the Hawaii landscape. The state Senate recognized his role in “;affecting the shape, the dimensions and the future course of Honolulu and our state”; on his retirement in 1987.

He came to Hawaii from Philadelphia, where he had been executive director of a citizens council on city planning. He earned degrees in landscape architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and political science/city planning from Wharton School.

He is survived by daughters Lisa Levine of Portland, Ore., and Karen Levine Porreca of Ocean City, N.J.; sons Dennys Eymard of Kula, Maui, and Marc Eymard of San Francisco; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

The family suggests that memorial contributions be made to the Friends of Iolani Palace, P.O. Box 2259, Honolulu 96804.