Kauai County, HI Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Section 8-4.5(b)(1) of the Kaua'i County Code 1987 sets the height limit for single family detached and attached dwellings, and their accessory structures, in every Residential District. No such building may rise more than two stories above and one story below the finished grade measured at the main entry, exceed 20 feet from that finished grade to the highest exterior wall plate line, or exceed 30 feet to the highest point of the roof measured at each point along the building from the finished grade at the main entry.

The Code caps how much a builder can raise that reference grade itself: the finished grade at the main entry cannot be elevated more than 4 feet above the existing natural grade, which prevents an artificially built-up entry from pushing the effective height limit higher. Section 8-4.3(b) further treats a loft as a full story for counting the two-story maximum, except in a flood plain area, where a loft above the ground floor is not counted as a story for that limitation. Section 8-4.5(b)(2) sets a separate, taller standard for multiple family buildings, hotels, and motels: no more than four stories or 40 feet from finished grade to the highest wall plate line, with gables and roof height capped at half the wall height or 15 feet, whichever is less, though mechanical equipment spaces such as elevator machinery and air conditioning units may exceed that by up to 15 feet above the highest wall plate line.