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.
HIGHCultural-resource read · HRS §6E
Commission Archaeological Inventory Survey (AIS) before any ground disturbance.
Under stress-testMODERATE to HIGH · not robust
LOW
MODERATE
HIGH
The band the read lands in when each input is varied. It moves between MODERATE and HIGH, so one changed input can change the band.
Every domain, in its own words
Each reads what its record says. The marked one sets the headline.
CulturalHIGHSets the headline
Land Use & ZoningConditionalHonolulu LUO (ROH Ch. 21)
WastewaterLowHAR §11-62 / Act 125
ContaminationModerateDOH HEER
FloodAEFEMA NFHL
Coastal permitOutside SMASMA
Shoreline & SLRInlandROH §26-1.4
Environmental reviewNo spatial triggerHRS §343
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
HIGH65Utility trenching
HIGH69Pool / spa installation
HIGH73Single-family foundation
HIGH75Septic + leach field
HIGH77Full site grading / commercial earthwork
HIGH80Cesspool replacement
HIGH82Footprint 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 PermitBuilding Permit
Along this chainevery fired step is on the chain
~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 — detailed below; none is an automatic saving, and none changes the screening ranges shown here.
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)Required● Critical path
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 PermitLikely● Critical path
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 PermitRequired● Critical path
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.