Hawaii County, HI Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Density Bonus Law (2026)
Key Facts
- Bonus amount
- 10% more units, 10% smaller minimum lot size
- Governing section
- HCC § 11-8, County affordable housing policy
- Qualifying trigger
- On-site affordable units, rentals, or donated finished lots
- Restricted zones
- Barred in State Agricultural and Rural land districts
- Applies to projects
- 5+ residential units needing 20% affordable credits
- Off-site flexibility
- Bonus splittable between market-rate and affordable sites
Summary
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.
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 by ten percent, compared to the number of units otherwise allowable and the minimum lot size as established by the zoning code. ... The density bonus may not be used in the State Land Use Agricultural District or Rural Districts to create lots less than the minimum lot sizes required in those districts.
Full Breakdown
Hawaii County Code section 11-8, part of the County of Hawai'i affordable housing policy in chapter 11, rewards projects that satisfy their affordable housing obligation on site. Under subsection (a), a project that builds affordable dwelling units for sale or rent, or donates finished lots with infrastructure, can add ten percent more residential units to the site and shrink the minimum lot size by ten percent below what the zoning code would otherwise allow. Subsection (b) lets a developer that satisfies the requirement off site apply the bonus to either the market-rate site, the affordable site, or split it between the two.
Subsection (c) caps the tool in the two land use districts where the County has the least room to maneuver: the bonus cannot be used in the State Land Use Agricultural District or Rural Districts to create lots smaller than the minimum lot size those state districts require, so a county-level incentive cannot override the state's own floor. The bonus attaches to the requirement created by section 11-4, which reaches new rezonings that add residential capacity, resort and hotel rezonings, and rezonings to the ML, MG, and MCX industrial districts; a project with five or more units or lots must earn affordable housing credits equal to twenty percent of the total, rounded to the nearest half unit, before the density bonus in section 11-8 becomes available to it.
Violations & Fines
Section 11-8 is an incentive, not a prohibition, so it carries no fine of its own. The risk sits upstream: section 11-9 requires the developer to record an agreement guaranteeing the affordable units or lots will be sold or rented at the required price, or that the applicant will obtain sufficient excess credits, before final subdivision or plan approval, and that recorded agreement is what the County enforces against the property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the density bonus be used on agricultural land?
Can I use the density bonus on a different site than my affordable units?
Does every project qualify for the affordable housing density bonus?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hawaii County
Compare Hawaii County to another location·View the Hawaii zoning overlays & bonuses overview
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