In terms of building on vacant land or upgrading your home, a Contractor will generally know the requirements and the processes needed as required by the County of Kauai. Following up on that note, here is a new change regarding building permits from the County of Kauai:

In early January 2018, The County of Kauai announced to the public that they will no longer accept paper plans for any project requiring a building permit. The new advancement will be effective starting February 1, 2018. This will be apart of the County of Kauai’s 100 percent Electronic Paper Review, or the ERC. The ERC process is a web-based system that eliminates traditional paper-based review methods.

Before any further processing, projects that will require building permits will need to be overseen by the Building Division. Also, electronic copies of construction documents that need building permits are required by the County Department of Public Works.

There will be no change to submitting zoning applications and commensurate fees in person to the Planning Department to begin the ERC process.

There is an exception to projects that do not require a building permit being those that only require zoning permits:

-Perimeter Fencing

-Retaining Walls

-Accessory Structures under 200 sq ft

-Concrete Pads on residential parcels

Any other details and information regarding this change and or requirements can be found on www.kauai.gov and or at the County of Kauai Building located on Rice St. in Lihu’e.