Kailua Bay open house invites Kona community into stewardship planning

Kailua Pier will host the Kailua Bay Advisory Working Group Community Open House on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., and the state is pitching it as a chance to shape how one of Kona’s most heavily used ocean spaces gets managed next. The Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation says the public is invited to join the process to "improve Kailua Bay & Pier and inform future stewardship," a message that lands squarely with divers, snorkelers, paddlers and boat operators who depend on predictable access and safe water use.

The open house is more than a casual neighborhood meet-and-greet. Senate support has already helped put the effort on the map: Senator Dru Mamo Kanuha promoted the event and described the working group as bringing together community members, cultural practitioners and other stakeholders. That mix matters at Kailua Bay, where shoreline entries, pier activity, boat traffic and snorkel congestion can all collide in the same small stretch of water on a busy day.

The formal planning track goes back to the 2025 legislative session, when the Hawaii State Legislature passed House Concurrent Resolution 191 HD1 and asked the Department of Land and Natural Resources, through DOBOR, to convene the Kailua Bay Advisory Working Group. A DLNR quarterly report dated December 1, 2025, says the Legislature passed the resolution and directed DOBOR to convene the group. HCR 191 says the Kailua-Kona Wharf, commonly referred to as Kailua Pier, serves as a vital hub for place-based cultural history, community gatherings and ocean access.

That framing explains why the meeting reaches well beyond a routine planning update. Kailua Pier sits at the center of Kailua-Kona’s waterfront, where access points, vessel movement and day-to-day crowding can shape the experience for anyone dropping in for a shore dive or launching a boat. When the state talks about future stewardship, it is talking about the practical issues that decide whether the bay feels organized or chaotic: who is using the space, how they move through it, and how much room is left for safe entry and exit.

The idea is not new to Hawaii. A June 2007 Koolaupoko Watershed Restoration Action Strategy document referenced a Kailua Bay Advisory Council, showing that community-based coastal management has been part of the conversation for years. This latest working group puts that kind of stewardship back in a formal setting, with the pier and bay under the same spotlight that Kona’s ocean users already know all too well.