The Kaua’i General Plan, adopted in November 2000, calls for the expansion of Kilauea town to accommodate approximately 40 acres of additional residential community, a 10-acre park, and the construction of a new by-pass road from Kuhio Highway to Kilauea Point. During the deliberation over this General Plan policy, residents were divided over the issue of town growth.
The legislative intent of the town expansion policy was to control the spread of gentlemen’s estates by directing new housing development into urbanized areas and to discourage special permit uses for civic and commercial uses in agricultural zones by providing for expansion of the town’s commercial core area. The purpose of the by-pass road was to provide a safer entry to town and divert the through traffic to Kilauea Point.
Kilauea’s character is expressed in its stone plantation buildings, the farms surrounding the town, and its active community association. A by-pass road runs makai from Kuhio Highway on the Hanalei side of town, providing the preferred route to the enlarged commercial area in the town center and the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. The by-pass road has a safe walkway and bike path and is the preferred route for getting to the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. The pedestrian-friendly town remains rural in character, with smooth traffic flow and residential areas protected from commercial/industrial development.