Kauai County, HI Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Chapter 20, Article 5 of the Kaua'i County Code, adopted by Ordinance No. 445 in 1983 and amended in 2018, governs any private use of County-owned real property, including the public rights-of-way along streets and sidewalks. Section 20-5.1 requires that a revocable permit be granted through competitive bidding, and Section 20-5.2 lets the Finance Director skip bidding only when the intended use will not conflict with an immediate public purpose, there is no reasonable alternative to using public property, the use will not create a nuisance or harm public health or welfare, and no other party has requested the same property.

Section 20-5.3 sets rent at one dollar per month for nonprofit organizations and government agencies and at fair market rental value, established by the Finance Department or an approved independent appraiser, for everyone else; no rental fee applies when the property is designated County public right-of-way and bidding was not required. Every applicant, unless the County itself sponsors the activity, pays a nonrefundable one-hundred-dollar application fee, and an issued permit can be revoked on thirty days' notice or less and cannot run longer than one year.

Section 20-5.4 lets the Finance Director, with County Attorney approval, revoke any permit on fifteen days' written notice stating the reason. Section 20-5.5 makes unpermitted use, use beyond a permit's scope, or noncompliance a traffic infraction-level offense under Chapter 18, Article 5 and Chapter 16, Article 21 of the County Code and Chapter 291D of the Hawai'i Revised Statutes, and separately lets the Finance Director suspend or revoke a permit for false information, noncompliance, unsafe activity or changed circumstances, with no refund of fees paid.

Section 20-5.6 gives a permit holder thirty days from service of an adverse decision to file an administrative appeal under Hawai'i Revised Statutes Chapter 91.