Driveway and Sidewalk Variances
Criteria
A driveway or sidewalk variance is an approval for the design of a driveway apron and/or sidewalk that does not comply with the City’s Standard Details. Please refer to the City’s Standard Details for your reference. A variance may be granted ONLY if such improvements will avoid an undue hardship for the affected parties without adversely impacting public use of the sidewalk or roadway. A variance will not be granted to relieve the applicant from the design provisions of the American with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG-28 CFR Part 36, Appendix A).
What requires a driveway variance?
Examples can include the following but not limited to:
- Single or multiple driveways on a property that exceeds the maximum allowable length (excluding driveway flares) per City Standard Detail R-30
- Driveway flares that encroach into a neighboring property’s frontage (excluding properties with lengths of 15 feet or less) per City Standard Detail R-30
- Driveways located less than 2 feet away from a surface utility per City Standard Detail R-30
- Driveways that do not comply with City Standard Details R-7 for rolled-curb frontages and R-29a for curb frontages
What requires a sidewalk variance?
- Meandering sidewalk alignments
- Non-standard sidewalk finishes
- Elevated sidewalks (sidewalks with grades above the 2% gradient line from the curb line to the property line)
Driveway Apron Details
Driveway apron standard is determined by the curb type in the neighborhood.
Most common is ‘drop curb’, some older neighborhoods may have ‘rolled curbs’, and areas without any curbs at all are ‘unimproved’.
How to apply for a driveway or sidewalk variance?
To apply for a driveway variance or sidewalk variance, please go to HNL BUILD and select “New Site Development Permit” and then “Driveway Variance” or “Sidewalk Variance” under “Approvals and Determinations”.
Attachments
Attach a scaled site plan or sketch showing the following information:
- Property lines, dimensions, and street names
- Existing and proposed building structures, parking spaces, parking requirements, and proposed driveways with dimensions
- Locations of utilities, trees, or government installations fronting the property or within 5 feet of the property frontage
- Distances from the proposed driveway or sidewalk to any structure, other driveways, and installations within the sidewalk area
- Widths of sidewalks, driveways, and driveway flares
- Detailed drawings of the proposed driveway and/or sidewalk including elevation, plan, and detail view prepared by a licensed professional, if appropriate
- Owner’s name, tax map key, address, north arrow, and scale of the drawing
- Photographs or other items to support the variance request. DO NOT ATTACH THE ORIGINAL BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION FORM. Items submitted with the application may be kept for the City’s records and will not be returned to the applicant.
- If a proposed driveway is within the reserved 15-foot utility reserve area, a Joint Pole Committee variance is required. Contact the Joint Pole Coordinator at 808-543-7068 for further information.
Filing Fee
A filing fee of $200.00 is required for each application. All fees are nonrefundable. Applications will not be processed without fee payment. Checks are made payable to the City and County of Honolulu. Payments can also be made online in HNL BUILD. An additional processing fee of %2.83 will be added for online transactions using a credit or debit card.
Response
The director will respond to the applicant in writing. All responses will be mailed to the return address provided by the applicant. Normal processing times for a request can range up to 60 calendar days, but may be longer. APPLYING FOR A VARIANCE DOES NOT GUARANTEE AN APPROVAL.
If you have any further questions, please contact the Civil Engineering Branch, Project Review Section of the Site Development Division at 808-768-8106.