Zoning Overlays & Bonuses in Hawaii County, HI (2026)

2 rules for unincorporated Hawaii County, Hawaii.

Verified from official government sources

Note: These county rules apply to unincorporated areas of Hawaii County. If you live within an incorporated city, that city's own rules apply: see the city list below.

Density Bonus Law

A Hawaii County housing project that fulfills its affordable housing requirement by building or renting affordable units, or donating finished lots, earns a density bonus: ten percent more residential units and a ten percent smaller minimum lot size than the zoning code otherwise allows. Section 11-8 blocks the bonus from creating substandard lots in the State Agricultural or Rural land use districts.

Affordable Housing Density Bonus, Hawaii County

Light Restrictions

Hawaii County Code § 11-8

Any project subject to an affordable housing requirement under this chapter that fulfills its housing requirement by constructing affordable dwelling units for sale or rent or by donating finished lots with infrastructure shall be entitled to a density bonus increasing the total number of residential units that may be constructed on the site by ten percent, and decreasing the minimum lot size b...

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Downtown Design Guide

Downtown Kailua-Kona falls inside the roughly 825-acre Kailua Village special district, where a nine-member Kailua Village design commission reviews architecture and site design before the planning director grants plan approval. Hawaii County Code §§ 25-7-1 through 25-7-5 set the district's boundary, commission makeup and duties; there is no equivalent design review board for downtown Hilo, whose CDH district runs on standard height, yard and parking rules instead.

Kailua Village Design Review Rules in Hawaii County

Significant Restrictions

Hawaii County Code §§ 25-7-1(a), 25-7-2(a), 25-7-4(a)-(b)

(a) The purpose of the Kailua Village design commission is to advise the director in matters concerning the design of buildings and structures and all public and private improvements within Kailua Village. ... (a) The design commission shall recommend to the director an architectural and design concept of theme for Kailua Village that recognizes the desires and concerns of all public and privat...

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