Requesting The Department Of Land And Natural Resources To Convene A Kailua Bay Advisory Working Group.
H.R. 185 is a House Resolution requesting the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to convene a Kailua Bay Advisory Working Group focused on Kailua Pier in Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi Island. The resolution describes the pier as an important cultural, recreational, commercial, and tourism asset, while also noting persistent problems tied to heavy use, homelessness, vandalism, sanitation, parking, user conflicts, and infrastructure damage.
The working group would be asked to meet monthly and serve as a structured forum for state, county, community, and private stakeholders to coordinate on pier and bay issues. Its tasks include improving safety, preserving commercial and cultural uses, monitoring repairs and funding needs, addressing water quality and marine protection, and making policy and operational recommendations. It would also be required to submit quarterly reports to the Legislature for two years beginning in 2025, including any proposed legislation.
Because this is a resolution rather than a bill, H.R. 185 does not directly amend the Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes or create enforceable legal duties. Instead, it requests DLNR to organize an advisory process and bring together representatives from state, county, and community entities, including boating, tourism, law enforcement, homelessness coordination, and local business and cultural groups. Its practical impact would be to formalize interagency coordination around Kailua Pier and potentially generate future legislative or administrative proposals based on the group’s findings.
The overall sentiment reflected in the resolution is supportive and problem-solving. The measure frames Kailua Pier as both culturally significant and economically important, and it emphasizes the need for collaborative management to protect public access, safety, and community benefits. No vote or committee transcript is provided, so there is no recorded opposition or debate in the available materials.
The main points of tension identified in the resolution are the competing uses and pressures at Kailua Pier: tourism and commercial activity versus cultural practices, public access, environmental protection, and community safety. The resolution specifically highlights homelessness, vandalism, restroom damage, sanitation concerns, parking shortages, and user conflicts as ongoing issues. It also implies jurisdictional complexity, since responsibility is shared among DLNR, Hawaiʻi County agencies, federal entities, and private/community stakeholders, making coordination itself a central challenge.