Council to Weigh Returning Bellows Land to Hawaii
Honolulu City Council takes up a resolution urging the federal government to return portions of Bellows Air Force Station to the state.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in City Hall
The Honolulu City Council is scheduled to consider a resolution on November 5, 2026, urging the United States to return acreage at Bellows Air Force Station to Hawaii. The city's five-member zoning committee voted unanimously to send the resolution to the full nine-member council.
Why it matters
The resolution cites a century-old executive order that set the property aside for military training and a 1963 federal law requiring surplus land to be returned to the state. Decisions on which parcels could be transferred would rest with the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, not the city council.
The 2021 Hawaii Military Land Use Master Plan lists 409 acres used by Bellows and 1,072 acres used by the Marine Corps as a training area, out of roughly 1,500 acres at the station. The resolution does not specify which parcels would be returned, and that determination would be made by the Air Force.
The players
Honolulu City Council
The nine-member legislative body that governs the entire island of Oahu and is considering the resolution.
Office of the Secretary of the Air Force
The federal office that would decide which Bellows Air Force Station land could be turned over to the state.
The details
The resolution calls for returning acreage in consultation with the Native Hawaiian community, Waimanalo residents, and the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. The station's last runways closed in 1958, and it is now used mainly for morale, welfare, and recreation purposes.
Timeline
1893: The Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown.
1917: An executive order created the Waimanalo Military Reservation.
1933: The reservation was renamed Bellows Field.
1958: Bellows' last runways closed.
November 5, 2026: The full Honolulu City Council is scheduled to consider the resolution.
Political Context
The resolution rests on a 1963 federal law requiring surplus federal land to return to Hawaii, while the city council's authority is limited to advocacy because the Air Force controls the land. Opponents of such transfers would likely point to the military training purpose the 1917 executive order established for the property.
The resolution would not itself transfer any land, so residents would see no immediate change in access to Bellows. Any future transfer would depend on federal decisions and could affect recreation use and nearby Waimanalo communities.
The takeaway
A council resolution is an advocacy step, and actual land transfers depend on federal decisions by the Air Force.
What happens next
The full Honolulu City Council is scheduled to consider the resolution on November 5, 2026.
Further reading
For more on how local government handles these matters, see City Hall coverage in Honolulu.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Stars and Stripes.
