Development risk profile
SIGNIFICANT DILIGENCE
Driven by Cultural — HRS §6E
A screening read of public records — not legal, appraisal, or environmental advice. The single worst domain sets this read; it's never averaged. Verify with qualified professionals before you rely on it.
67HIGHof 100
LowModerateHigh
03055100
Top signalCoastal sand substrate — regional cultural-resource sensitivity prior (HIGH)
Risk by disturbance footprint
Risk read under each plausible work scenario. Click a row to share the link with that scenario pre-selected.
Sewer lateral / minor utility connectMOST LIKELY
65HIGHUtility trenching
69HIGHPool / spa installation
73HIGHSingle-family foundation
75HIGHSeptic + leach field
77HIGHFull site grading / commercial earthwork
80HIGHCesspool replacement
82HIGHFootprint figures (sewer lateral, septic + leach field) are from The Hanalei Initiative's Wastewater Management Plan (Feb 2026). Other scenarios are estimates.
Decision brief
The six questions every parcel-development decision answers — synthesised from the data below.
SCREENING FRAMEWORKPre-LOI synthesis only — not legal, financial, or development advice. Each card cites the underlying data; verify every conclusion against the panels below and engage qualified Hawaiʻi professionals before transacting.
1. CAN YOU BUILD WHAT YOU WANT HERE?
KAK in Urban State LU — permitted use is by-right but conditional-review constraints apply (see constraints list below).
- County zoning: KAK (not in the LUO decoder — verify with C&C DPP)
- State LU District: Urban
- Zoning code "Kak" is not in the KILO LUO decoder. Verify the district standards with C&C DPP directly. [ROH Ch. 21]
- Kakaʻako Special Design District — Design review through DPP for C&C-jurisdiction parcels; HCDA project-review track applies separately for HCDA-jurisdiction parcels (HRS Ch. 206E) [ROH §21-9.110]
- Kakaʻako Special Design District: Most of Kakaʻako is under HCDA jurisdiction (HRS Ch. 206E) — county zoning is informational on those parcels; verify which jurisdiction governs [ROH §21-9.110]
- Kakaʻako Special Design District: Where C&C jurisdiction applies, ground-floor commercial / urban-design requirements per the Kakaʻako Special District guidelines [ROH §21-9.110]
- If the project includes a NEW SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLING, HRS §196-6.5 bars the county building official from issuing the building permit unless the dwelling includes a solar water heater system meeting the HRS §269-44 standards — or the Hawaiʻi State Energy Office (chief energy officer) approves a variance. This is a permit-issuance gate, so on a single-family project it sits on the critical path rather than in the fit-out budget. A variance application is only accepted from an architect or mechanical engineer licensed under HRS ch. 464, attesting to one of four grounds: (1) Installation is impracticable due to poor solar resource at the site. (2) Installation is cost-prohibitive on a life-cycle cost-benefit analysis incorporating the average residential utility bill and the cost of the system, over a life cycle not exceeding fifteen years. (3) A renewable energy technology system, as defined in HRS §235-12.5, is substituted for use as the PRIMARY energy source for heating water. This is the substitution path most commonly used for heat-pump and PV-supplied water heating. (4) A UL-approved demand water heater — a gas-tankless instantaneous heater supplying hot water only as needed — is installed, provided at least one other gas appliance is installed in the dwelling. A variance is deemed approved if it is not denied within 30 working days after receipt, and HSEO takes applications through its online filing portal. The mandate reaches new single-family dwellings only — multifamily, commercial and resort construction, and alterations to an existing dwelling, sit outside HRS §196-6.5 and remain subject to the county energy code. Applicability to an accessory dwelling unit or a dwelling created by conversion turns on how the county building official classifies it; confirm before pricing either path. [HRS §196-6.5]
- New construction — and many alterations and additions — must comply with the Building Energy Conservation Code (BECC) (ROH ch. 32), 2018 IECC with C&C amendments, adopted by Ordinance 23-2 (Bill 4 (2023), CD2). Compliance documentation is part of the building-permit submittal, and the envelope, HVAC, lighting and service-water-heating provisions are a design input rather than a post-permit detail. Statewide, HRS §107-24 gives each county 2 years to adopt the State Building Code Council's edition with local amendments, after which the state edition becomes the county code by default — the 2021 IECC commercial provisions took effect as the state code unamended on 2023-01-29, with a 2025-01-29 county deadline. Confirm the edition in force at permit application with C&C Honolulu DPP. [ROH ch. 32]
- Opportunities: Kakaʻako Special Design District: Both HCDA and C&C tracks support significant residential + mixed-use density appropriate to the urban-core context; HRS Chapter 201H exemption pathway — an affordable project developed with or assisted by HHFDC (counties process applications through their housing agencies) may request exemption from statutes, ordinances, and rules relating to planning, zoning, and subdivision/construction standards (HRS §201H-38), on an expedited clock: the county council must act on the preliminary plans within 45 days, and a project not disapproved by the 46th day is deemed approved. HHFDC program threshold: at least 50% + 1 of units affordable at ≤140% AMI, with buyback / shared-appreciation restrictions on for-sale affordable units. Exemptions cannot compromise public health or safety. Distinct from the county density bonus — the two pathways are evaluated separately.
2. WHO HAS TO APPROVE THIS?
FRICTION
3 review pathways beyond standard county permitting.
- C&C Honolulu DPP — Kakaʻako Special District Permit (SDP) [ROH §21-9.110 / HRS Ch. 206E] (3-6 (C&C SDP) / parallel HCDA review if applicable mo)
- SHPD §6E historic-property review — HIGH cultural-resource sensitivity — Archaeological Inventory Survey (AIS) expected pre-fieldwork; SHPD coordination from project start (3-6+ months SHPD review)
- Ka Paʻakai O Ka ʻAina three-prong analysis — §6E historic-property review at HIGH cultural-resource sensitivity (SHPD) (6-12+ months agency review beyond baseline)
- Optional reroute — HRS §201H-38: a qualifying affordable project (≥50% + 1 of units at ≤140% AMI) may process through HHFDC or the county housing agency instead, with planning/zoning/development standards exemptible and a 45-day council clock (deemed approved if not disapproved) [HRS §201H-38]
3. WHAT'S GOING TO BE EXPENSIVE?
FRICTION
3 non-standard cost drivers identified — verify magnitudes with a licensed contractor.
- Archaeological Inventory Survey + cultural monitoring — HIGH cultural-resource sensitivity per the engine read
- Flood-zone NFIP insurance — FEMA flood zone AE
- Environmental due diligence + potential remediation — HEER contamination docket: VICTORIA WARD, LTD ~51 m; Phase I ESA likely
4. WHAT'S GOING TO BE SLOW?
1 timeline driver beyond standard county pace.
- Inadvertent-discovery delay risk (Days-to-weeks per find; project-stopping in worst case) — HIGH cultural-resource sensitivity — Wainiha 2021 and Oʻahu coastal patterns
5. PRE-LOI INVESTIGATION ITEMS
POTENTIAL BLOCKER
1 high-severity constraint to verify against your specific deal terms.
- DOH HEER contamination near parcel — VICTORIA WARD, LTD at ~51 m. Verify Phase I ESA scope with an environmental consultant before proceeding.
6. IS THIS NEIGHBORHOOD HAPPENING OR DEAD?
DATA GAP
Partial neighborhood read — area permit momentum below; recent sales not yet in KILO.
- 5 cultural sites documented within 1 km — established / historically-active area
- 486 documented cesspools in Ala Wai watershed — older / pre-sewer development pattern
PERMIT PATHWAY — HONOLULU DPP
2 approvals to sequence ahead of the building permit.
Critical path
Kakaʻako Special District Permit (SDP) → Grading / Grubbing / Stockpiling Permit → Building Permit
~6–18 months of sequenced process along this chain
Levers on this chain: the HRS §201H-38 alternate track may replace the discretionary entitlement on this chain — a qualification-gated option, not an automatic saving; see the track below.
Screening-grade sequencing: statutory windows + typical agency ranges over the cited gating edges — not observed medians, and not every step applies to every project. Conditional steps are shown but excluded from the total.
Coastal & discretionary approvals
Kakaʻako Special District Permit (SDP)● CRITICAL PATHREQUIRED
C&C Honolulu DPP · 3-6 (C&C SDP) / parallel HCDA review if applicable mo
Discretionary entitlement the project's tier requires
A land-use approval that must be secured before by-right permits can issue; filed and decided ahead of (or alongside) the coastal approvals and the building permit.
ROH §21-9.110 / HRS Ch. 206E
Site development
Grading / Grubbing / Stockpiling Permit● CRITICAL PATHLIKELY
C&C Honolulu DPP · 1-3 mo
Earthwork above the ROH Ch. 18A thresholds
Carries a DPP-approved Erosion & Sediment Control Plan; reviewed concurrent with or ahead of the building permit. A Site Planner cut/fill read sharpens whether it's triggered.
ROH §18A-2.1
Building permit
Building Permit● CRITICAL PATHREQUIRED
C&C Honolulu DPP · 1-3 mo
Observednew-construction permits, 2019-2021 applications (n=2,898): median ~12 mo application-to-issuance; 35% not issued within 2 years (27% cancelled or denied). Predates the 2026 SB66 60-day clock — treat as the pre-reform baseline.
All vertical construction
Issues after the coastal/discretionary approvals above are secured. From 2026-07-01, engineer/architect-certified single- and multi-family plans are deemed approved if DPP does not act within 60 days (SB66, SLH 2025).
ROH §18-3.1
Alternate track — HRS §201H-38 alternate track
Optional reroute — HRS §201H-38: a qualifying affordable project (≥50% + 1 of units at ≤140% AMI) may process through HHFDC or the county housing agency instead, with planning/zoning/development standards exemptible and a 45-day council clock (deemed approved if not disapproved) [HRS §201H-38]
Ordered by DPP's own filing sequence: discretionary & coastal approvals → site development → building permit. A screening read of the instruments this parcel's signals trigger — confirm thresholds, Minor-vs-Major, and exact order with DPP; not every step applies to every project.