Kilauea Neighborhood Association agrees to back county draft easing rules for rental units

At its Jan. 3 meeting, the Kilauea Neighborhood Association voted to write a letter to the county expressing support for a draft amendment to the county building code titled "article 16 Additional Rental Units." Ka’aina Hull, Deputy Director of Planning, presented the draft as one of several county ideas aimed at easing Kauai’s housing shortage.

"The amendment titled, “article 16 Additional Rental Units” allows certain residentially zoned homes to add rental units to the property," Ka’aina Hull said during the presentation. Board members said the ordinance’s qualifiers would likely exclude most Kilauea residents but could provide benefits at the island level.

Director Beryl Blaich moved that the association write a letter reflecting that position; Treasurer Gary Pacheco seconded. "Upon motion duly made by Beryl seconded by Gary and passed with one abstention, it was resolved to write a letter in support of the draft ordinance to the county," the minutes record. The board’s action is limited to sending an opinion letter and does not change local zoning or land-use rules.

The draft ordinance was framed at the meeting as a countywide measure to relieve housing pressure, not a Kilauea-specific change. The association’s letter will reflect the board’s conditional support while noting practical limits for many local parcels. Next steps identified by members were to forward the letter to county planning staff and monitor any public hearings on the draft amendment.