Hawaii County, HI Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Downtown Design Guide (2026)
Key Facts
- District size
- About 825 acres in downtown Kailua-Kona
- Commission size
- Nine members, mayor-appointed, council-approved
- Review deadline
- 30 days to recommend, or director proceeds
- Member terms
- Staggered three-year terms, no immediate reappointment
- First-offense fine
- Up to $500 under HCC § 25-2-31
- No Hilo equivalent
- Downtown Hilo's CDH district has no design commission
Summary
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.
(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 private interests. (b) The design commission shall provide an architectural and design review of applications requiring plan approval by the director. The design commission's review and recommendations to the director shall be completed within thirty days from the date of the design commission's receipt of the plans requiring plan approval. If a recommendation is not received within the allotted period, the director shall continue to process the request for plan approval.
Full Breakdown
Hawaii County created the Kailua Village design commission in 1974 (Ordinance 628, amended by Ordinance 630) and recodified it at Hawaii County Code §§ 25-7-1 through 25-7-5 in 1996 (Ordinance 96-160, ratified April 6, 1999). The district covers roughly 825 acres of downtown Kailua-Kona, running from the shoreline near the old Kailua wharf mauka past Kuakini Highway and Queen Kaahumanu Highway to the Kona Hillcrest Subdivision. § 25-7-4 gives the commission two jobs: recommend an overall architectural theme for the village, and review every application that needs the director's plan approval, plus public projects such as street widening and street lighting and private work like landscaping or repainting a building's exterior.
§ 25-7-5 puts the district boundary up for council review every five years, starting in 1979. No equivalent design commission or design guideline exists for downtown Hilo's CDH district (§§ 25-7-20 through 25-7-27) or the University District; only Kailua Village and, separately, the Phoa Village Design District (§ 25-7-41) carry adopted design guidelines in Hawaii County's zoning code.
Violations & Fines
Building without the plan approval § 25-7-4 requires, or ignoring the commission's design conditions, is a violation of the zoning chapter under Hawaii County Code § 25-2-30. § 25-2-31 makes it a criminal offense: up to a $500 fine for a first conviction and $500 to $1,000 for a repeat conviction within five years, with each additional day the violation continues charged as a separate offense. Authorized county personnel can issue a citation without physical arrest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does downtown Hilo have a design review board like Kailua Village?
Who sits on the Kailua Village design commission?
What happens if the design commission misses its review deadline?
What is the penalty for building in Kailua Village without required plan approval?
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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