Oahu zoning and such (low income, renters, condominium)

[Glorya]

Follow up to my earlier question on renting v owning... how does zoning work on Oahu? Say you get a larger parcel and want to subdivide to build two/three units. What restrictions are there? I've noticed that some units have "ohanas" so I'm wondering how is this treated legally. Plenty to learn about this unique market of Hawaii.

[hotzcatz]

Ask the Planning Department how many parcels a larger lot can be made into. Usually it will be zoned something like "RS10" which means one residential unit per 10,000 square feet. But don't rely on your Realtor, ask the Planning Department since they're the ones who will actually determine what can and can not be done with a lot.

Usually lots are zoned things such as residential, commercial, village commercial, industrial, agricultural, etc., and different uses are allowed depending on what type of zoning they have.

They've also just eased the restrictions on ohana units lately. Due to the amount of homeless and low income renters on Oahu, they're doing everything they can to encourage folks to have additional housing units.

[whtviper1]

To build an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) of 400-800 sq ft - the requirements are listed here:

What is an ADU – Hawaii ADU

If you have at least 10,000 sq ft of land but less than 20,000 sq ft- you may be able to divide that and build another house far greater than 800 sq ft but they will be treated as condos and in some manner will need to physically touch (not necessarily a wall).

[pj737]

Originally Posted by Glorya

Follow up to my earlier question on renting v owning... how does zoning work on Oahu? Say you get a larger parcel and want to subdivide to build two/three units. What restrictions are there? I've noticed that some units have "ohanas" so I'm wondering how is this treated legally. Plenty to learn about this unique market of Hawaii.

There are a myriad of approvals necessary to determine exactly how many units can be legally built on a property. This includes but is not limited to specific zoning laws per district, vehicular access/traffic flow, min parcel length and width, fire apparatus access/distance to fire hydrants, rockfall mitigation req, environmental and wastewater capacity. Then there are a myriad of additional requirements if the property lies in a Special Mgmt Area (SMA) or Special Design District.

There is absolutely no sure way to determine how many units can be built on a property simply by knowing the land use zoning code. You will need to contact multiple departments at the city to come to any determination. There are companies that can produce this information for you (including some architects) but it is costly and nothing is guaranteed.

At a bare minimum, an R-3.5 lot would require 7,000 SF to build two properties. R-5 - 10,000 SF, min (7,500 SF for duplex); R-7.5 - 15,000 and R-10 - 20,000.

ADUs can be constructed if legal parking stalls can be added (i.e. meet length/width req OUTSIDE the setbacks - NOT required if within .5 mi of the rail) and the property is at least 3,500 SF in size. 400 SF ADUs are allowed for lots up to 5,000 SF... and 800 SF for lots larger than 5,000 SF. If the area has inadequate wastewater capacity, you are SOL.

Subdividing is costly and takes time - at least one year. Most owners CPR their parcels (condominium property regime) which allows more flexibility for driveway, parking and structure placement within a master parcel.