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Home My WebLink AboutFY 2026 (Planning Department) PLANNING DEPARTMENT FY 2026 BUDGET AND OPERATIONS SYNOPSIS Ka‘aina Hull Director 1 Department: PLANNING Fund: GENERAL FUND 1. FY 2025 to FY 2026 BUDGET COMPARSION Fund: GENERAL FUND Department: PLANNING FY 2025 FY 2026 $ + / - % + / - Salary and Wages 2,048,593 2,095,887 47,294 2.3% Benefits 1,305,125 1,375,194 70,069 5.4% Utilities 0 0 0 0.0% Vehicle/Equip, Lease 1 1 0 0.0% Operations 324,945 374,071 49,126 15.1% 3,678,664 3,845,153 166,489 4.5% 56%35% 0%0% 9% FY 2025 Operating Budget Salary and Wages Benefits Utilities Vehicle/Equip, Lease Operations 54%36% 0% 0% 10% FY 2026 Operating Budget Salary and Wages Benefits Utilities Vehicle/Equip, Lease Operations 0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 Salary and Wages Benefits Utilities Vehicle/Equip, Lease Operations FY 2025 and FY 2026 Comparison FY 2025 FY 2026 2 2. MAJOR CHANGES AND/OR VARIANCES IN OPERATIONS BUDGET The Planning Department’s FY 2026 budget request reflects an increase of $166,489 or 4.5% from the FY 2025 Budget. The FY 2025 Operating budget was $3,678,664 and the proposed FY 2026 Budget is $3,845,153. Highlights of the changes to our FY 2026 operational budget are as follows: a. Increase in Salaries by $47,294. The increase in funding is due mainly to reallocations made throughout the year. We currently have two vacant positions. One of the positions is a Planner V (Position No. 2027) which became vacant on February 1, 2025. We have gone out for recruitment. The other position is a Grant Funded Account Clerk (Position T-2017) which we are currently interviewing from a list of eligibles. We have also Dollar Funded four of our Coastal Zone Management Grant Funded positions which is a federally funded program under the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). We have Dollar Funded these four positions in anticipation of possible budget reductions and/or cuts by the Federal Government. These granted funded positions have been continuously funded by NOAA since 1979 and are important to the County of Kaua‘i for the Administration and Implementation of our County Shoreline Setback Law and Special Management Area Rules and Regulations. b. Increase in Benefits by $70,669 or 5.4%; to ensure we are adequately positioned to meet future obligations, we have made a strategic decision to increase the allocation of our Other Post-Employment Benefits account across the board. This will provide for flexibility in addressing any potential increases. c. There is a $49,126.00 increase in operations. Of this $49,126.00, $35,571.00 is proposed in response to a request from the University of Hawai‘i (UH), Sea Grant College Program (see attached). Since 2009, the County of Kaua‘i has participated in a cost-share agreement to have a UH Sea Grant extension faculty employee housed within the Planning Department to serve as a science advisor to the County of Kaua‘i , particularly with our coastal management and climate resiliency and adaptation measures. The original cost-share agreement was for the County to fund 0.90 percent full-time equivalent (FTE). That initial cost-share agreement has declined over time due to faculty union-negotiated collective bargaining increases and faculty-related promotion increases bringing the County’s cost-share to approximately 0.78 percent FTE. 3. OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM FY 2025 a. Plantation Camp Form-Based Code -Adoption of Ordinance No. 1138 This Ordinance was initiated by the Planning Department to utilize Form Based Code in an effort to maintain the unique historical character of Kaumakani’s built environment while also allowing additional housing and limited commercial development on the vacant areas of the Kaumakani Camp and Kaumakani Avenue areas in a manner that reinforces and maintains the pattern of the associated neighborhood. The Kaumakani Plantation Camp area maintains a unique sense of identity and has features and qualities that should be 3 preverved. Ordinance no. 1138 amended the West Kaua‘i Community Plan by adopting the Kaumakani Plantation Camp Walkable Mixed Use District and design standards through the Plantation Camp Form Based Code. Continuing this work with our historic plantation camps, the department has interfaced with and spatially assessed the island’s two remaining camps, Niumila Camp and Ka‘awanui Camp (Camp 6). The Department has drafted a form-based code for both camps, and the two separate draft ordinances are scheduled to have their first public hearings at the Planning Commission on March 11, 2025. The Department does anticipate these draft ordinances to be transmitted to the County Council for review and action by the summer of 2025. b. East Kaua‘i Community Plan The East Kaua‘i Community and Circulation Plan (EKCCP) is a long-range land-use and transportation plan for the East Kaua‘i Planning District and will update the 1974 Wailua- Kapa‘a Development Plan. The EKCCP will produce detailed town plans for Wailua, Kapa‘a, Kapahi, and Anahola, and address key topics such as housing, land use, circulation, historic preservation, civic space, and infill development. The public process was launched through a virtual and in-person Open House in Summer 2024, along with a survey. A Community Working Group was also convened to guide the planning process. Recent community input was gathered through a multi-day town design workshop, with additional workshops planned to address housing and transportation. Additionally, a youth council has also been formed to ensure multigenerational input is obtained. c. Continued Enforcement of Transient Vacation Rentals With a mix of pro-active enforcement and the administration of the memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Airbnb and Expedia, we are seeing the lowest rate of illegal vacation rental operations in over a decade. Back in 2017, there were an estimated 1,400 illegal TVR operations. Over the past 5 years with effective enforcement and the MOUs in place that number is down to less than 50 estimated illegal TVRs currently. 4. REQUIRED UPDATE ON PLANNING ENFORCEMENT ACCOUNT EXPENDITURES: Section 8-3.5 (b) of the Kaua‘i County Code, 1987 as amended, establishes a Planning Enforcement Account to assist the Planning Department with enforcement of codes, statutes, and regulations for which it has the authority to enforce. The purpose of the direct appropriation of funds to the Planning Enforcement Account enables the Planning Department to have funds readily available to perform enforcement responsibilities. All Civil Fines levied and received by the Department are deposited into the Planning Enforcement Account. Section 8-3.5 (b) also requires the Planning Department to provide an annual report to the Council as part of the Mayor’s budget submittal on March 15th of each year. The report provides the expenditures and outcomes of the Planning Enforcement Account within Fund 251. For the period from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, we have collected $45,000 in fines. 4 Section 8-3.5(b) allows the Department to utilize the funds to retain independent contractors to assist with the enforcement of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO) and other codes. The Planning Department has expended approximately $50,611.8 during FY 2024. These expenditures were used to purchase equipment, supplies, training, and uniforms for the Enforcement Division. Pursuant to Section 8-3.5(b), any uncommitted funds in excess of $500,000 shall be transferred and deposited into the General Fund at the close of the fiscal year. In August 2024, the balance of the funding was $93,931.83 and there was no funding transferred from the 251 Planning Enforcement Account into the General Fund for FY 2024.