Big Island residents are encouraged to attend a pair of public meetings this week to discuss updates to Hawaii County’s zoning and subdivision codes.
The Planning Department began a 19-month process to update those codes in October and held an initial series of open houses. That process will continue Tuesday and Wednesday with another set of open houses intended for residents to submit proposals about how to modernize the codes.
Neither the subdivision nor zoning codes have been updated in decades. The subdivision code, which determines how the county can subdivide and make improvements to land, was last updated in 1983, and the zoning code, which defines how land in certain zones can be used, was last updated in 1996.
“The update is intended to bring the codes in alignment with current practices and help address challenges we currently face, such as affordable housing and climate change,” Planning Director Zendo Kern said via email.
The Planning Department has said the code updates will allow the county to “provide for more predictability, increase consistency, incorporate best practices in land use and zoning, promote desirable and equitable development, and meet the needs of the Hawaii Island community.”
Kern said the previous round of public outreach generated “a lot of valuable feedback,” and that the upcoming open houses will be an opportunity to present new concepts generated by that feedback.
Updating the codes will be both time-consuming and costly. The final draft of the new codes isn’t expected to be completed until March 2024, and the full project will cost about $1 million.
A portion of the cost will be paid for by Community Development Block Grant Mitigation funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
There will be four open houses this week, with two happening simultaneously between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, and another two happening at the same time on Wednesday. The first two meetings will be at the Hilo Aupuni Center Conference Room and the Waimea Community Center, while the second two will be at the Pahala Community Center and the West Hawaii Civic Center.
Also, a “virtual open house” with more information about the project will be available starting Tuesday.
Following the open houses, the county will begin the lengthy drafting process, with further community engagement events planned for later this year.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
