Hawai‘i County Council to take up paid parking bill in Historic Kailua Village

To address a longtime problem, the Hawai‘i County Council on Tuesday will discuss a new bill that would regulate rates charged at private parking facilities in Historic Kailua Village.

For years, business owners and residents in downtown Kona have been advocating for relief from the economic hardship they say is caused by the exorbitant parking rates, which now range from $9 to $21 an hour, although some lots offer free time or discounted prices for residents.

Council Member Rebecca Villegas, who introduced Bill 132 after working with advocates for the village, said Sunday: “Consumers are asking for protection from price gouging and requirements to provide government ID information. The intention of this legislation is to create legal parameters around the paid parking protocols in Kailua Village, thus protecting consumers, tenants and our fragile small business economy.”

The purpose of the bill is to “ensure that rates are not excessive nor create hardship for the public to access local businesses, community events, cultural gatherings or recreational actives in Kailua Village and along its shoreline and surrounding bays.”

The bill calls for free parking for the first three consecutive hours a patron parks or stores a motor vehicile in a paid parking facility in Kailua VIllage. After that, with some exceptions, the paid parking facility can not charge more than $2 per hour during the first 24 hours with a limit of $30.

After the first 24 hours, storage of a vehicle shall be charged a flat daily fee of $30.

Operators of parking facilities can require vehicle identification and payment of parking, but they are prohibited from requiring or requesting government-issued identification.

The council’s Policy Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit will hear the bill on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. in the Hilo Council Chambers. Click here to watch the meeting live.

“It’s taken way longer than any of us had hoped to get this bill ready for prime time, but such is the nature of this kind of work,” Villegas said. “After multiple drafts, edits and revisions, this is what I’ll be presenting in council this week.”

The bill remains a work in progress, and may require amendments to get it across the finish, the councilwoman said.

Big Island Now first reported on the paid parking crisis in the village in October 2023.

There is a patchwork of 21 or so parking lots and street parking on Ali‘i Drive, spanning from the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel to Coconut Grove. There is one free lot, owned by the county, that has about 90 stalls.

In April 2025, the county announced a pilot program to create about 50 free street parking spots by turning a portion of Ali‘i Drive, from Kailua Pier to the Hualālai Road intersection, into a one-way road.

The trial started May 1, and was expected to last for 90 days. But with overwhelming opposition from the community, Aliʻi Drive was reverted back to a two-way road on June 16.

The problems created by the one-way road were traffic congestion, safety hazards, less foot traffic and residual backups on Kuakini Highway due to motorists being unable to make a right turn at Hualālai intersection onto Ali‘i Drive.