March 10, 2026, 9 a.m.
Lihue Civic Center, Mo’ikeha Building
To: Kauai Planning Commission
Gerald Ako, Chair
Helen Cox, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Jonathan Helton, Policy Analyst
RE: Bill 2973 — RELATING TO USES IN DISTRICTS
Aloha Chair Ako, Vice Chair Hox and other commissioners,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii has concerns with Bill 2973, which would limit the number of unrelated people who can live in a single dwelling to 10 people.
Grassroot believes that imposing this limit would negatively affect individuals who are already struggling to afford shelter.
The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment on Kauai is more than $1,800. For a three-bedroom apartment, the average rent is almost $3,900, and for a three-bedroom house, it is $4,000.[1]
Currently, there is no limit on the number of unrelated people who can share a dwelling. Large dwellings that can accommodate more than 10 people are not common, but splitting rent can make them more affordable than trying to rent a one-bedroom apartment alone.
A 2024 report from the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism found that more than 6% of owner-occupied homes and 12.5% of rentals were overcrowded or very overcrowded in Hawaii.[2]
Kauai County had the lowest rate of overcrowding in the state, but each county’s rates of overcrowding were much higher than the national average.
There are downsides to overcrowded housing, but attempting to police dwellings in which multiple unrelated people live together would make their housing situations worse. A person rooming with 10 or 12 other people is likely doing so because they cannot afford housing elsewhere.
If anything, the amount of overcrowding on Kauai is a clear indication that the county should reform its land use and zoning laws to allow more housing to be built.
Lastly, this legislation would be a poor solution to the problem the county is attempting to solve: groups living in large dwellings that do not match the scale of their surrounding neighborhoods.
The Kauai Planning Department is ill-equipped to enforce a prohibition on the number of unrelated people living together. After all, this could involve trying to obtain marriage licenses, investigating family histories or getting DNA tests to confirm whether people are related.
Frankly, planning staff are not trained for this type of work, and it could represent a serious invasion of privacy.
Regulating the look and composition of a building instead of the number of people living in it would be a more direct approach to this issue. Concerns regarding off-street parking, noise or infrastructure access likewise could be addressed in ways other than trying to limit group living arrangements.
Grassroot would welcome dialogue about how Kauai can address overcrowding by making housing more attainable for everyone.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Jonathan Helton
Policy Analyst
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Footnotes
- “Average Rent in Kauai County,” Rentometer Inc., data as of March 3, 2026. ↑
- “Overcrowding in Hawaii housing,” Research and Economic Analysis Division of the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, June 2024. DBEDT used the metric of 1.01 to 1.5 persons-per-room to define “overcrowded” and 1.5 or more persons-per-room to define “very overcrowded.” ↑
