Council introduces bill expanding size of guest houses on Kaua‘i

LIHU‘E — A bill introduced at County Council on Wednesday would increase the maximum size of guest houses, a move intended to make a dent in the ongoing housing crisis on island.

Proposed Bill No. 2860 would increase the maximum size from 500 square feet to 800 square feet, and would require one off-street parking space per house.

“Given the climate of our housing crisis we think that this measure will provide some much-needed support,” said Council Vice Chair Mason Chock, who introduced the bill along with Councilmember Bernard Carvalho.

A guest house can be used to accommodate short-term guests or long-term tenants, though it cannot be used as a transient vacation rental or homestay operation. By increasing the size of these homes, proponents believe that they will be able to accommodate more people per house and to make landowners eligible to build a guest house more likely to do so.

Multiple residents testified in support of the bill at Wednesday’s council meeting, with some viewing the change as a primary factor in allowing them add a guest house to their land.

“We have several Ag-zoned parcels that qualify for a guest house,” said resident Kurt Bosshard. “Should the size be increased to 800 square feet we would build a guest house on one of more of these properties and affordably rent it.”

He pointed out that homeowners would face the same utility costs for a 500-square-foot guest house as one that‘s 800 square feet.

Janet Kass said that she preferred a 1,000 square foot limit on guest houses but saw the proposal as a step in the right direction.

“(500 square feet) is big enough for someone who is visiting for a few days,” said Kass. “But it isn’t big enough for a full-time resident.”

Councilmember Billy DeCosta voiced support for the measure, comparing a 500-square-foot guest house to a dorm room.

“They want you to be almost on top of each other so you can get along with your roommate,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a husband and wife that could spend that much time together.”

In contrast, he said that an 800-square-foot house could include a bathroom, a kitchen a living room and two bedrooms.

“This could accommodate a husband and wife and even a child or two,” he said.

Councilmember Luke Evslin also supported the measure, though he requested that the Planning Commission look into allowing guest houses that remain under 500 square feet to be exempt from the parking requirement included in the bill.

“In some sense, it’s increasing the requirements for somebody who wanted to build this small unit,” Evslin said.

This is the next step in a bid to decrease the regulations on guest houses. In 2019, council passed a bill that changed the definition of a guest house to allow kitchens.

Increasing the housing supply remains a top priority for the county, which identified building 9,000 new housing units by 2035 as a priority in the 2018 General Plan.

The plan pointed out that at the time, 44% of all households were cost-burdened, meaning that their housing costs exceeded 30 percent of their income.

Rents have only increased since then, driven in part by an increase in out-of-state home buyers and renters, according past The Garden Island reporting.

The guest house measure passed first reading unanimously Wednesday and will now go before the Planning Commission.

Last week, the council voted down another housing measure, which would have increased the tax on transient vacation rentals and used the revenue to fund affordable housing.