When the Honolulu City Council decided in 2015 to allow permitted tour-bus stops to Waimanalo Bay Beach Park, it was seen as one of the few beaches with a parking lot large enough to accommodate buses.

The right question to have asked was: Should the city allow that level of traffic at the public’s cherished beach parks at all? The answer would seem to be “No.”

The Council is set on Wednesday to take up Bill 93 for third and final reading. If approved, the measure would allow up to five tour companies to get permits for “recreational stops” at Waimanalo Bay, popularly known as “Sherwood Forest,” at a monthly permit fee of $165 per tour van or vehicle. Council members should table this bill and rethink why this beach should be exempted from the general ban, enacted in 2015, against commercialization of Windward Oahu beaches.

Allowing public beaches to become regular stops on organized, commercialized tours would change their character, and not in a way the public should endorse, supporters of that ban argued.

But in 2015, Waimanalo Bay Beach Park was carved out as a place where such stops would be allowed on weekdays only. The activity is banned from 6:30 p.m. on Fridays to 6:30 p.m. on Mondays and on all state and federal holidays.

Further restrictions had been enacted in the previous legislation, which described what was permitted as vans or vehicles that seat no more than 15 passengers. But even smaller groups, when they arrive in multiple tours, can readily overwhelm a public beach. The exceedingly low permit fee certainly wouldn’t serve to limit them at all.

Council members should revisit the activity exception made for Waimanalo Bay, which was made because of its spacious parking area — but really wasn’t a sufficient reason to commercialize the place.

And commercialization will inevitably happen, with pressure building to expand. Permitted activities, under a separate ordinance, would include sightseeing, picture taking, beachcombing, “swimming guide tours” and eating prepared picnic lunches.

And though Bill 93 would authorize up to five companies, it’s easy to see the way being cleared for this number to grow and for organized activities to begin crowding out casual beach use by residents and others.

The city Department of Parks and Recreation is discussing how to adopt a policy to curb commercial activities in parks elsewhere on the island. Councilman Ernie Martin has made a start with the recent introduction of Bill 2, regulating activity at beaches in his North Shore district.

If this regulatory regime is to expand islandwide, the allowances at Waimanalo Bay surely create a kind of slippery slope for something similar to be adopted at other parks equipped with larger parking lots.

Surprisingly, nobody testified on the current bill, which aims to set the permit fees. Three years ago, however, the demand for an overall ban was passionate, primarily reflecting the views of residents who don’t want public beaches swamped by tourist activities. Those favoring allowance of tourist activities said the ban would hurt small local businesses.

The Caldwell administration has rightly argued that the executive branch should have the prerogative to adopt a county-wide policy and regulations, and some Council members, including Ikaika Anderson and Kymberly Pine, agreed that the “piecemeal” approach is not ideal.

The administration, then, should accelerate its timetable for developing such a policy. And when officials do so, they need to consider how easily parks can become overtaken by commercialism. Tourists are welcome to enjoy the parks informally and on their own, just as the public does. Permitting such usage en masse, however, defeats the purpose of public parks.