LIHU‘E — The Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, one of the most utilized chapters of the Kaua‘i County Code, is getting an overhaul.
“There are many compelling reasons to systematically review, research and propose formal revisions to numerous sections of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO),” county Planning Director Michael Dahilig said in a press release. “Our ultimate goal is to overhaul, as necessary, the entire CZO, and make it a more user-friendly document.”
Adopted in 1972, the CZO, which regulates land use and development on Kaua‘i, is being updated by the county planning department with the assistance of consulting firm Helber, Hastert and Fee, states a county press release.
The first phase of the draft update, available online, focuses primarily on organizational and format changes, along with all of the adopted amendments to date. Plans are in place for the second phase to begin later this year.
Comments from the public can be emailed to czoupdate@kauai.gov or sent via regular mail to: Planning Department, 4444 Rice St., Suite A473, Lihu‘e, HI, 96766.
The deadline to provide comments on Phase One of the CZO draft update is Friday, Jan. 20.
Over the last two years, long-range county planners have been working closely with the consultant in reorganizing the CZO, incorporating charts and figures as visual aids, and inserting language changes based on meetings with the department staff based on their research of other codes and laws.
The project team has also reviewed the recommendations for CZO amendments found in the 2000 Kaua‘i General Plan, as well as the recommendations from the 1996 to 1998 CZO updates, and has moved forward with having some of them codified.
Among the recently codified amendments are: Transient Vacation Rental Ordinances Nos. 864, 876 and 904; Open District Ordinance No. 896, and Additional Dwelling Unit Ordinances Nos. 843 and 886.
Visit www.kauai.gov/planning/CZOUpdate for the first phase of the draft update.
Call the county’s planning department at 241-4050 for more information.
