Kauai County, HI Code Violation Reporting: Common Violations (2026)

Kaua'i County Council adopted the Vacant Lots article in 1977 (Ord. No. 303) after finding that unmaintained lots in the County were overrun with weeds, grass, trash and litter, creating fire, health and sanitation nuisances once subdivision construction ends and lots sit vacant and unsold. Kaua'i County Code § 22-9.3(a) puts the duty squarely on the owner: vacant property must "at all times" stay free of weeds, garbage, trash and waste that contribute to a nuisance or hazard to the neighborhood's health, safety or welfare.

The rule reaches "vacant" lots, meaning unimproved and unoccupied parcels, in residential zones of R-4 density or higher; it defines "garbage," "trash" and "waste" broadly enough to cover abandoned appliances, vehicles, construction debris and demolition rubble left on a lot. The Maintenance Division of the Department of Public Works enforces the article and keeps a permanent record of every parcel it has cited, including the owner's name and the date notice was mailed and posted. A violation becomes actionable once the Maintenance Superintendent's office confirms it, and the finding is treated as prima facie evidence in any prosecution under § 22-9.5.

Penalties escalate with time: a base fine of $25 to $500 applies per conviction, and each day the hazard remains uncorrected after the compliance deadline lapses counts as a separate violation, so unresolved cases compound quickly. Prosecution runs through the County's Public Prosecutor's Office rather than the Police Department, and § 22-9.6 preserves any other civil remedy an aggrieved neighbor or the County may have outside this article.