HCC §25-5-32
What uses are allowed in the RM district
Read the official text at hawaiicounty.gov ↗This section lists the uses that are automatically allowed in the RM district, such as homes, farms, and small businesses. It also lists uses that need a special permit, like hospitals and golf courses. Accessory buildings for these uses are also allowed.
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The ordinance, as written (Hawaiʻi County) — Permitted uses
A copy, taken August 21, 2026. The version published by Hawaiʻi County is the one that governs, and it may have changed since. Check it before relying on anything here.
(a) The following uses shall be permitted in the RM district: (1) Adult day care homes. (2) Apiaries. (3) Bed and breakfast establishments, as permitted under section 25-4-7. (4) Boarding facilities, rooming, or lodging houses. (5) Cemeteries and mausoleums, as permitted under chapter 6, article 1 of this Code. (6) Commercial or personal service uses, on a small scale, as approved by the director, provided that the total gross floor area does not exceed one thousand two hundred square feet and a maximum of five employees. (7) Crop production. (8) Dwellings, double-family or duplex. (9) Dwellings, multiple-family. (10) Dwellings, single-family. (11) Family child care homes. (12) Group living facilities. (13) Home occupations, as permitted under section 25-4-13. (14) Household henneries, as permitted under section 25-4-18. (15) Meeting facilities, as permitted under section 25-4-17. (16) Model homes, as permitted under section 25-4-8. (17) Neighborhood parks, playgrounds, tennis courts, swimming pools, and similar neighborhood recreational areas and uses. (18) Public uses and structures, as permitted under section 25-4-11. (19) Short-term vacation rentals situated in any of the following: (A) General plan resort and resort node areas. (B) Outside the general plan resort and resort node areas, in multiple family dwellings within a condominium property regime as defined and governed by chapters 514A or 514B, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes. (20) Telecommunication antenna and towers, as permitted under section 25-4-12. (21) Temporary real estate offices, as permitted under section 25-4-8. (22) Time share units situated in any of the following: (A) Areas designated as resort under the general plan land use pattern allocation guide (LUPAG) map. (B) Areas determined by the director to be within resort areas identified by the general plan land use element, except for retreat resort areas. (C) Areas determined for such use by the council, by resolution. (23) Utility substations, as permitted under section 25-4-11. (b) In addition to those uses permitted under subsection (a) above, the following uses may be permitted in the RM district, provided that a use permit is issued for each use: (1) Care homes. (2) Crematoriums, funeral homes, funeral services, and mortuaries. (3) Day care centers. 25-79 SUPP. 19 (1-2026) (4) Golf courses and related golf course uses, including golf driving ranges, golf maintenance buildings and golf club houses, provided that the property is within the state land use urban or rural district. Golf courses and golf driving ranges shall not be permitted within the state land use agricultural district unless approved by the County before July 1, 2005. (5) Hospitals, sanitariums, old age, convalescent, nursing and rest homes. (6) Medical clinics. (7) Schools. (8) Special events. (9) Yacht harbors and boating facilities. (c) Buildings and uses normally considered directly accessory to the uses permitted in this section shall also be permitted in the RM district. (1996, ord 96-160, sec 2; ratified April 6, 1999; am 2012, ord 12-28, sec 5; am 2014, ord 14-86, sec 5; am 2018, ord 18-114, sec 7; am 2019, ord 19-100, sec 5; am 2021, ord 21-26, sec 7; am 2024, ord 24-65, secs 7 and 10; am 2025, ord 25-55, secs 8 and 9; ord 25-66, sec 12; ord 25-85, sec 3.)25-5-32
Published by the County of Hawaiʻi Office of the County Clerk.
LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.