Kauai County, HI Ordinances (2026)

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), owners adding an Additional Rental Unit (ARU) can tap a County-funded subsidy to help pay the Facilities Reserve Charge, but taking affordable-rental credit…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), a residentially zoned lot with only one single-family home may add one more dwelling unit, attached or detached, as an additional dwelling unit (ADU) under…

Kaua'i County exempts small accessory buildings and garden sheds under seven feet tall and 400 square feet from residential yard setbacks, while newly built sheds and similar…

Kaua'i County Code Section 22-28.2 blocks private covenants, deed restrictions and HOA bylaws from limiting or prohibiting long-term rentals, Additional Dwelling Units, Additional…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), Building Code Section 12-2.4 lets a homeowner build a Tiny House under the International Residential Code's Appendix Q, and defines a Tiny House as a…

Short-term rental hosts on Kaua'i pay the county's 3% transient accommodations tax on gross rental proceeds, layered on top of the 0.5% general excise surcharge and Hawai'i's own state…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), every homestay must hand guests a written notice, titled "For the Safety and Comfort of You and Your Neighbors," covering suggested curfews and guidance on…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), every single-family transient vacation rental (TVR) must register with the Director of Finance under Sec. 8-17.9: existing units within a Visitor Destination…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), a homestay, where an owner rents rooms in their own home to visitors for 29 days or less, is capped at three guest rooms per property under Sec. 8-18.1 and…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), the owner who claims the homeowner's tax exemption on a homestay must personally reside at the property and be physically available to guests during every…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), each bedroom used for homestay guests must have its own additional paved, designated off-street parking stall under Sec. 8-18.2(a), on top of whatever…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), a homestay zoning permit renews only if the owner proves, every year, that the residential structure used for the homestay is still their primary residence…

Hotels and other transient accommodations on Kaua'i (Kaua'i County) owe a 3.0% county transient accommodations tax on gross rental income, on top of Hawai'i's own state TAT, under…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), no one may erect, enlarge, alter, move, or demolish a building or structure without a separate building permit from the Building Division of the Department…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), permitted construction must stay visible and accessible for inspection under Section 110.1 until the building official approves it. Section 110.3 lists the…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance defines a "day care center" as any State of Hawai'i-licensed facility caring for seven or more children under 18 without…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), any electrical work on a building or structure requires a separate permit from the County Engineer's administrative authority before work begins. The 2017…

Kaua'i (Kaua'i County) enforces the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code for all plumbing and drainage work, incorporated by reference under Chapter 14 of the county code. A plumbing permit is…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), Residential Code Section R313.2 requires an automatic fire sprinkler system in every new one- and two-family dwelling, but a state law exception in HRS…

Kaua'i County Code § 7A-2.3 grants developers who fully integrate workforce units with market-rate units a density bonus: 10% more residential units and a 10% smaller minimum lot size…

Kaua'i County Code § 10-5A.7 creates the Rice Street Neighborhood Design District (SPA-D), an overlay covering downtown Līhu'e that layers design standards onto the Comprehensive…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), leaving a vehicle unattended on a public highway for more than 24 hours makes it legally abandoned. The Chief of Police can remove it, and the registered…

Kaua'i County Code § 16-10.7 lets the Director of Finance open County-owned EV charging stations to the public, and bars parking a gas vehicle in a marked EV space or a non-charging…

Kaua'i County Code § 16-10.1 lists exactly where stopping, standing or parking is off-limits countywide: sidewalks, intersections, crosswalks, and within six feet of a driveway or ten…

Kaua'i County Code § 16-11.1 limits marked passenger curb zones to 3 minutes and freight curb zones to 30 minutes between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with all…

Kaua'i County Code § 16-12.3 bars using any vehicle, including a camper or trailer coach, as a place to sleep or live on a public highway or public place between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., and…

Kaua'i County limits residential driveway width to 40% of a lot's street frontage, except at a cul-de-sac turnaround, and requires driveway connections to meet Department of Public…

Kaua'i County Code § 18-1.2(b) lets the County Council prohibit commercial vehicles, or vehicles of a certain weight, load or size, from specific roads by resolution; the restriction…

Kaua'i County Code § 16-9.12 lets police officers and Chief of Police designees order a vehicle towed and stored by a commercial towing service whenever it creates a traffic hazard…

Kaua'i County requires anyone buying or selling scrap metal to hold a $10 annual license under Chapter 23, Article 2. Dealers must log every purchase, verify minors' sources, and alert…

Kaua'i County Code § 16-16.7 bars operating a moped in any bicycle lane or bicycle path that is restricted and posted for bicycle use, keeping that motorized class of vehicle out of…

On Kaua'i, County Code § 16-16.8 sets one 'electric bicycle' standard, not a three-tier class system: it bans high-speed electric devices from streets, sidewalks and paths, requires a…

Kaua'i County Code § 16-16.6 bans riding coasters, roller skates, skateboards or similar play devices on any roadway countywide, and adds a sidewalk ban limited to sidewalks inside a…

Kaua'i County Code Section 22-21.2 makes it unlawful to urinate or defecate within the parking lots and grounds adjacent to the Historic County Building, County Annex and Lihu'e Civic…

Kaua'i County bans drinking or carrying an open container of intoxicating liquor in the parking lots and grounds around the Historic County Building, County Annex and Lihu'e Civic…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), County Code Article 8 bans smoking in most enclosed public places and in Parks and Recreation Division facilities, unless the Department posts signs allowing…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), the Kaua'i Historic Preservation Review Commission (KHPRC) protects cultural, archeological and historic resources under County Code Article 14. The…

Kaua'i County Code § 10-5A.7(q) caps walls and fences fronting a public right-of-way in the Rice Street Neighborhood Design District at three feet, with post caps, finials and pillars…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), a fence over 6 feet needs a building permit; Section 105.2 exempts only fences, architectural barriers, and planter boxes measured 6 feet or less from finish…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), retaining walls up to 4 feet are exempt from a building permit under Section 105.2. Walls 5 feet or taller need a permit, and their plans must be prepared…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), Section 423.2 bans barbed or razor wire on fences except at utilities, hazardous-material sites, zoos, jails, and agricultural pastures, and even then only…

In the Rice Street Neighborhood Design District, Kaua'i County Code § 10-5A.7(p) bars oversized product ads or posters from blocking views into storefront windows and caps every façade…

Kaua'i (Kaua'i County) outlaws every aerial, flashing, moving, or roof sign, the categories that cover digital and animated billboards, under § 15-4.4 of the county code. Any sign not…

Kaua'i (Kaua'i County) exempts political campaign signs from its sign permit, but § 15-4.6(a)(2) still caps their size at the ordinance's zoning-district limits, bans posting inside…

Inside Līhu'e's Rice Street design district, Kaua'i County Code § 10-5A.7(g) lets restaurants spill sidewalk cafes, outdoor seating and sandwich-board displays onto the public…

On Kaua'i, County Code § 16-20.2(b) bars any parade or procession, other than the military or Police and Fire Department forces, from occupying or marching on a roadway without a…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), anyone organizing a fundraiser, wedding, class or vendor event at a County park or recreation facility must apply for a Type III through Type VI activity…

Kaua'i County Code § 10-5A.9(p) bars excessive outdoor lighting and floodlighting in the 'Akahi, 'Elua and 'Umi Streets Neighborhood Design District (SPA-F) and limits fixtures to what…

Kaua'i County Code § 10-5A.7(t) requires every dumpster in the Rice Street Neighborhood Design District to be screened on at least three sides by an opaque fence or wall tall enough to…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), the Department of Public Works runs regular refuse collection once a week on days it sets by area. County Code Section 21-2.1 makes every receptacle owner…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), the Department of Public Works runs curbside recycling through County-issued blue-lidded carts under County Code Section 21-2.1(b) and its pilot-project…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), brush, tree limbs and hedge cuttings for regular collection must be cut into three-foot lengths and tied into bundles under fifty pounds. County Code Section…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), it is unlawful to throw or deposit litter, trash or debris on any public street, sidewalk, beach, park or waterway. County Code Article 3 of Chapter 20 bans…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), refuse carts and receptacles must go out for collection at the boundary between the property and the nearest public road, or up to twenty feet inside the lot…

Kaua'i County's Department of Public Works runs residential trash pickup once a week on days it assigns for each route under County Code § 21-2.3(c). The County Engineer sets and…

Kaua'i County's regular curbside pickup will not take large items: tires, white goods, sofas, mufflers, tree limbs over three feet, or any load bigger than one cubic yard. Section…

Kaua'i County limits its residential drop-off recycling centers to residential self-haulers, and only consumer recyclables the County Engineer designates may go in, per §§ 21-6.1 and…

Kaua'i County Code § 10-5A.10(f)(3) directs new development in the Līhu'e Civic Center and Community Facilities Neighborhood Design District (SPA-G) to plant street trees consistent…

Kaua'i County Code Article 5 lets the County Council designate individual trees as "exceptional" for their historical, cultural, aesthetic or endemic value, protecting them on official…

Kaua'i County's zoning code defines 'poultry raising' as breeding, feeding, sheltering, or gathering more than four game or domestic fowl for sale, food, egg production, or pets. Below…

Kaua'i County Code § 8-1.5 defines "pet keeping" as feeding or sheltering more than two animals or four birds as a service to others, and "pet raising" as breeding, feeding, or…

Kaua'i County requires dogs off their own property to stay on a leash, cord or chain no longer than eight feet, under County Code § 22-2.2. Any dog off-leash in a public place, or on…

Kaua'i County Code Section 22-24.9 flatly makes it unlawful to feed cats anywhere on county property, an outright ban aimed at feral cat colonies on public land. Violators face the…

Kaua'i County requires every cat over three months old to carry a microchip under Section 22-24.2. The Kaua'i Humane Society, acting as the county's Animal Control Provider, impounds…

Kaua'i County Code Section 22-24.5 makes it unlawful for a cat owner to let a cat over three months old be at large unless it has been sterilized by a veterinarian. Fines run from…

Every dog over three months old on Kaua'i must be microchipped. Kaua'i County Code § 22-10.3(a)-(b) makes it unlawful to own an unchipped dog past that age and requires the owner to…

Kaua'i County has no breed-specific dog ban. Instead, Kaua'i County Code § 22-17.3 punishes an owner who negligently fails to control a dog that attacks a person or animal without…

Kaua'i County caps single-family homes and accessory structures in Residential Districts at two stories above and one below the finished grade, 20 feet to the highest wall plate, and…

Kaua'i County's Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance sets minimum yard setbacks for every Residential District structure: a 10-foot front setback from the right-of-way, a rear setback of 5…

Kaua'i County caps how much of a residential lot can be covered by buildings and pavement: 60% in the R-1 to R-6 density districts, 80% in the R-10 district, and 90% in the R-20…

Kaua'i County's Agriculture District zoning protects farmland from residential and urban encroachment by limiting dwelling density to one unit per acre, capping non-residential…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), installing a solar energy system on any premises, building, or structure requires a separate solar permit from the Building Division before work begins…

Kaua'i County declares structurally unsafe, fire-hazardous, or dilapidated buildings public nuisances under Building Code Section 116.1. The building official can order repair…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), owners of vacant lots in R-4-or-higher residential zones must keep the property free of weeds, garbage, trash and waste under County Code Article 9. After a…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), an in-ground or above-ground residential pool needs a building permit under Section 105.1. Section 105.2 exempts only prefabricated pools accessory to a…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), Building Code Section 3109.2 requires every public swimming pool to be completely enclosed by a fence or screen at least 4 feet high, with openings too small…

Kaua'i County Code § 16-17.27 requires every vehicle on a public highway to run a working muffler, bans altered exhaust systems and cut-outs that create excessive noise, and prohibits…

Kaua'i County Code Section 22-25.3 defines a barking dog nuisance by the clock: intermittent barking for 30 minutes within any 45-minute window, or continuous barking for 15 minutes…

On Kaua'i, playing a radio, tape player or other sound device on public property, or in a vehicle on a public street, is unlawful once the sound carries 30 feet from the device. Kaua'i…

Kaua'i County Code bars grading, grubbing and stockpiling work between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Monday through Friday, and bans it entirely on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays unless the…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), County Code Article 3 bans possessing, selling, storing or exploding fireworks without a County license or permit. Households may buy only firecrackers…

Kaua'i (Kaua'i County) requires a Fire Prevention Bureau permit before installing any LP-gas container of 125 gallons water capacity or more, at a $50 fee, under the county's amended…

Kaua'i (Kaua'i County) lets the Authority Having Jurisdiction prohibit open burning entirely when it judges the fires a hazard, under the county's amended Fire Code. Burning to abate a…

Kaua'i (Kaua'i County) allows a backyard fire pit for recreational, decorative, or ceremonial use only with the property owner's written permission and 14 days' advance notice to the…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), Building Code Appendix X, Section X302, requires an approved battery-operated smoke alarm in any hale, a traditional Indigenous Hawaiian architecture…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), private or commercial use of County real property, including public rights-of-way, requires a revocable permit under County Code Article 5 of Chapter 20…

Kaua'i County Code § 24-1.1(b) lets the County force abutting property owners to build, maintain and repair the sidewalks and curbs fronting their own land, at the owner's own expense…

Kaua'i County Code § 18-5.1 bars parking or placing a vehicle or structure on any County right-of-way to sell from it without a permit; § 18-5.2 requires a County Engineer revocable…

Kaua'i County Code § 19-1.5 keeps every County park open daily during its posted hours, but lets the Parks and Recreation Director close any park, or part of one, at any time for…

Kaua'i County bars anyone under 18 from public streets, parks and other unsupervised areas between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and between midnight and 6 a.m. on Friday…

Kaua'i County Code Article 1 of Chapter 15 bars any construction or land alteration in flood-prone areas without full compliance with the county's Floodplain Management Ordinance. The…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), Chapter 15, Article 1, Floodplain Management, Section 15-1.5 requires new construction and substantial improvements of residential structures in AE, AO, AH…

Kaua'i County regulates stormwater and drainage through its Drainage Ordinance, Kaua'i County Code Article 16 of Chapter 22, which adopts the County's Stormwater Runoff System Manual…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), the Sediment and Erosion Control Ordinance (County Code Article 7) requires anyone grading, grubbing or stockpiling material to use best management practices…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), no one may cut, trim, mutilate or remove any tree, bush or plant growing on a public highway or on County-owned or leased land without written authorization…

Kaua'i County does not set a fixed weed or grass height limit; instead County Code § 22-9.2 defines "weeds" as vegetation grown thick enough to create a fire hazard, shelter vermin, or…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), only the 24 individually named trees the County Council has designated "exceptional" under Code Article 5 need removal approval. Damaging, removing or…

Kaua'i County Code § 8-1.5 defines a lawful "home business" as one carried on solely by a dwelling's own occupants, and it draws a hard line at customer traffic: any activity that…

Kaua'i County Code § 8-1.5 caps a home-based "family child care home" at six or fewer children under 18, cared for in a private dwelling without overnight stays, under a State of…

Kaua'i County's Table of Uses, § 8-2.4(c), states plainly that "public and private parks and home businesses are permitted in all districts." That means a qualifying home business does…

After the Governor or the President declares a disaster and funding is authorized, Kaua'i County's Engineer can run special source-separated debris collection in hit neighborhoods…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), conventional light-frame buildings must meet County Code Section R328, added by Building Code Section 12-2.3(43), which requires continuous uplift-tie straps…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), Building Code Section 1609.2 requires opening protection against wind-borne debris in designated wind zones: glazing near grade must pass ASTM E1996's…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), Building Code Appendix U, Section 430, sets hurricane-specific flood elevation criteria for state- and county-owned high-occupancy buildings meant to shelter…

Kaua'i County Code defines R-1 water as fully oxidized, filtered and disinfected recycled water and R-2 water as oxidized and disinfected recycled water, both meeting Hawai'i…

Kaua'i County Code § 25-13.5(e) lets a sewer customer billed on a flat-plus-volume rate get their sewer charge adjusted after a water leak. The Department of Water must first approve…

To report a vacant-lot nuisance on Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), file a written complaint with the Maintenance Superintendent in the Department of Public Works. Under Kaua'i County Code §…

On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), the most commonly cited code violation is a vacant lot left overrun with weeds, garbage, trash or waste. County Code Chapter 22, Article 9 makes the owner…