Hawaiian Paradise Park, HI

Hawaii County (Big Island) enforces the 2018 International Residential Code Appendix G and the 2018 International Building Code Section 3109 for residential pool barriers, adopted under Hawaii County Code Chapter 5 via Bill 44 (2022) by the County Department of Public Works, Building Division. Public swimming pools (hotel, condo, resort) are separately regulated by the Hawaii State Department of Health under HRS Chapter 321 and HAR Chapter 11-10. Barriers must be at least 48 inches tall with self-closing, self-latching gates and limited openings.

Hawaii County (Big Island) follows Hawaii's strict statewide Fireworks Control Law (HRS Chapter 132D), administered locally by the Hawaii Fire Department Fire Prevention Branch under Hawaii County Code Chapter 14, Article 5. Aerial devices, sky lanterns, bottle rockets, Roman candles, mortars, and shells are illegal. A $25 Firecracker Permit (5,000 firecrackers per permit, age 18+) is required and only valid during three windows: New Year's Eve (9 p.m.) to New Year's Day (1 a.m.), and July 4 (1 p.m.-9 p.m.). Act 243 (2025) sharply elevated penalties.

Hawaii County (the Big Island) regulates Accessory Dwelling Units, formerly called 'ohana dwellings,' under Chapter 25 (Zoning) of the Hawaii County Code. After the County Council passed Bill 123 in September 2024 (signed by Mayor Mitch Roth), the County abolished the separate ohana-permit process, redefined ohana units as 'Accessory Dwelling Units' (ADUs), and now allows up to three ADUs per lot in the RS (Single-Family Residential), RD (Duplex Residential), RA (Residential-Agricultural), A (Agricultural), and FA (Family Agricultural) zoning districts. Each ADU is capped at 1,250 sq ft of living area (lanais, garages and carports excluded), must meet the underlying zone's yard setbacks, must have potable water and an approved wastewater system, and is built under a regular building permit (no separate ADU permit required). Bill 123 was adopted to comply with HRS Sec. 46-4.8 (added by Act 39, SLH 2024), the state law that requires every Hawaii county to allow at least two ADUs on residentially-zoned urban lots.

Hawaii County (the Big Island) is the only U.S. NFIP community where parcels can simultaneously sit in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area, a USGS lava-flow hazard zone, and a Hawaii Emergency Management Agency tsunami evacuation zone. Floodplain development is governed by Hawaii County Code Chapter 27 (Floodplain Management), administered by the Department of Public Works Engineering Division. The county requires a Flood Development Permit for any work in a Special Flood Hazard Area and imposes a 1-foot freeboard above the Base Flood Elevation, exceeding the federal NFIP minimum. Hawaii County is a CRS-participating community providing flood insurance discounts on the roughly 4,400 NFIP policies countywide. USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory lava flow hazard Zones 1 and 2 cover much of Puna, Kau, and South Kona, and Zone 1 properties (active rift zones of Kilauea and Mauna Loa) are typically uninsurable for lava and difficult to mortgage.