Kona paid parking backlash grows as county weighs rate caps
A Papa Kona chef pays $250 a month to park while some Kailua Village lots charge up to $21 an hour, turning a quick stop into a costly errand.
In Kailua-Kona, a three-hour stop can run $63 at the high end, and a full work month can add another $250 to the bill. Papa Kona head chef Kyle Kealiiheleua said he and restaurant managers pay that much to park near work, while drivers in Historic Kailua Village now face hourly rates as high as $21 and some employees have started using other companies’ lots. Those fees now flow to private parking operators and the landowners behind them.
The strain is easiest to see around Kona Inn Shopping Village, where for-lease signs sit beside a parking system that has become part of the shopping experience. A 2023 report said private lots in Historic Kailua Village were charging $9 to $15 an hour, and one Oregon couple spent $37 to park for two visits in a little more than 24 hours. By 2026, local reporting said rates had climbed to $9 to $21 an hour, with some operators using surge pricing. The village’s parking map has long been a patchwork of about 21 lots and street parking areas behind Alii Drive, with only one county-owned free lot then holding about 100 stalls and a later county-run lot along Alii Drive at roughly 90 stalls.
The cost has hit workers as hard as visitors. Yayina Ki said she had been late to work on numerous occasions because she had to hunt for free spaces. Rebecca Villegas, who introduced Bill 132, said the measure was shelved over concerns that it could expose the county to lawsuits, even as the debate pushed her to bring forward two other bills. Jasmine Crusat, Diamond Parking Services Kona city manager, argued the proposal would discourage investment and hurt businesses by imposing county pricing rules on private landowners.
Bill 132 would have made the first three consecutive hours free, capped hourly parking at $2 during the first 24 hours and set daily storage fees at $30. Its draft said the goal was to regulate parking at private facilities in Kailua Village so rates would not be excessive or create hardship for the public trying to reach local businesses, community events and cultural activities, while preserving the area’s community-oriented atmosphere. The bill first came before the Hawaii County Council on March 3, then was postponed again on March 17 and April 21 as members worked through enforcement language and legal concerns.
County officials had already tried a smaller relief step in 2025, turning part of Alii Drive into a one-way street during a 90-day trial to add free stalls. But with parking costs still rising and merchants warning that shoppers will keep cutting visits short, the fight in Kailua Village has become a test of how much control Hawaii County can exert over a private parking market now shaping daily life in the heart of Kona.
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